An unexpected guest on an unexpected journey
by ToTeaOrNotToTea
Summary: It was after many years that she was returning to the Shire and all at the request of Gandalf the Grey. Luckily she wouldn't have to stay there too long but going on a Quest with a company of dwarves didn't seem like very good fortune after all, especially with all the suspicious looks she was getting from their leader. Out of the frying pan and into yet another frying pan.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't anything you recognise.**

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_Chapter 1_

It had been a long time since she had seen Hobbit Holes. A good few decades in fact and here the honorary Ranger Keera was, once again, little Myrtle Took and she looked around a wee bit terrified.

"Gandalf, I'm not sure I should be here."

"Nonsense. For a Took you are far too scared."

"Scared? I'm not scared I just...I don't belong here anymore."

"My dear girl, no one is going to recognise you when you've got your hood drawn so low and your scarf pulled up so high, do stop being so scared. We're only here for a day or so, no need to get so antsy. You will be wandering once again, I promise."

"Alright but just remember, I'm Kieran, not Keera. We both know people don't do well when there's women on quests. And don't expect me to talk either because if you do I will run."

"Imagine how that surprises me."

"None at all I should guess."

"Right on the nose, just as usual. Ah here we are."

"Bag End? Whatever are you up to old man?"

"Wizard, not man. And I have a hobbit to talk to. Stay put, will you?" He said and left her there. Unnerved she looked for a shadow to hide in only to find that as usual in the Shire, it was beautiful sunny day and there were no shadows in the sundrenched town she was standing in. Her eyes wandered for a brief moment to a hobbit hole a little way down with rose patterned curtains and of their own accord her feet moved a bit forward. She wondered if her mother remembered her.

The last time she had seen her, Amaranthus Took had been fawning over her sister in law and poring over baby names to find the right one. Keera wondered if they'd had a boy or a girl. They whittled the list down to Peregrin for a boy and Poppy if it was a girl, if she remembered correctly. It would be strange if she'd appear on the doorstep. Would her mother recognise her? If she did, would she be happy to see her wayward child returned?

Doubtful.

It was better this way. Now her mother didn't have to deal with all those whispers whenever Myrtle had been presented in polite company. They had thought they were quiet but they really weren't.

'_Would you look at those feet?! Not a single hair on them and so tiny too! I tell you, that child is half elf! Poor Gerry, doesn't even know what his wife's been up to.'_

She was broken out of her thoughts when a voice spoke up from behind her. "Ah, I see you listened to me for once." Gandalf looked down his nose at her, a pipe still in hand blowing smoke. It was a terrible habit but apparently only she realised it. It would seem she was doomed to be surrounded by men who adored smoking the pipe.

"Did you think I wouldn't?"

"You usually don't." He said teasingly before turning serious, his eyes roving over the homes before stopping at the same one she had been looking at. "You should talk to her. She's been lonely since your father died and you left."

"She's better off without me there. And to be honest I am a coward. An utter, utter coward."

Gandalf sighed. "Well at least you acknowledge it."

"Why are we here anyway?"

"We're looking for a Burglar of course."

"You can't mean-"

"Oh but I do."

"Oh dear." Keera glanced up at him surreptitiously but he didn't notice. She supposed the hood was to blame for that. "And Bilbo took it well did he?"

"I didn't get around to telling him that. One mention of the word 'adventure' and he took off like a rabbit faced with a ravenous Brandybuck." Gandalf sighed. "It wasn't that bad. But it was rather bad. He didn't even remember me and when he did, he ran off."

"That's not really surprising at all."

"No it isn't. Come along then _Kieran_. We'd best be off gathering supplies."

"The dwarves won't be glad of me."

"I don't think the dwarves will be glad of anyone but themselves. But they need a Burglar and they need a Wizard. We shall return at night so that Master Baggins isn't too surprised when-"

"When a company of dwarves show up at his door. Hmm. Well we'd best not be late then."

"Needn't worry." Gandalf said hurrying along, Keera following close behind. "I imagine we'll be right on time."

Keera groaned but followed him nonetheless. She had enough adventures of her own to know that a Wizard's idea of 'on time' wasn't the same as being actually on time. Still, delaying the inevitable didn't seem like too bad an idea.

Not to her at least.

But that poor sod, Bilbo Baggins, was in for one hell of a surprise.

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There was a noisy gaggle of dwarves waiting outside the door when they finally arrived at Bag End that night. The rune Gandalf had scratched into the door glowed bright and as they got closer and closer to them Keera shrunk further into herself.

"I can't imagine Bilbo being too happy with this." She whispered and then shut up as the dwarves noticed them.

"Gandalf, you here and you're late too!" One of them said.

"A Wizard is never late my dear friends."

"Is that the Burglar hiding behind you Mister Gandalf?" She silently laughed at the amount of respect the dwarf was giving him. It would change soon though. You couldn't travel with Gandalf as a companion and still come out of it being so polite to the dashed man.

"Oh no. No, no, this is no Burglar." She was almost offended at his vehemence, there had been plenty of times when she had been stealthy and stolen things. Although she supposed that stealing the jam at Nana Took's house didn't really count for much. It was still more experience than poor Bilbo could boast of though. "The Burglar lies on the other side of this door, my good fellow."

"Who's that then?"

"A friend who's travelling along similar paths. Nothing more." Apparently the vague answer satisfied the lot who went back to staring at the door with impatience.

"How long does it take to open a door?" One of them complained.

"Well you didn't knock properly, it's a Burglar's house innit? You have to do it right, there's probably a password. It's like this." The one who was standing at the back went forward to demonstrate just as the door opened and they all fell into the doorway in a heap of grumbling dwarves.

Bilbo stood on the other side and as Gandalf bent to look at him properly, he glared with all the intensity that only a Baggins could manage.

Within what felt like seconds, chaos and pandemonium prevailed over the formerly calm, quiet hobbit hole. Gandalf struggled to find his bearings in the short ceilinged home and began counting on his fingers, naming the dwarves one by one.

"Uh, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin," He looked behind him and then in front as the dwarves kept on changing their places, in a constant state of activity, "Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori , Ori-"

"Not my prize winners thank you!" Bilbo's cries rang out over the din as he fought with one of them for a basket of tomatoes ignoring Gandalf's reproachful look.

"Yes you're quite right Bifur." Gandalf said in response to a brief chat he in dwarvish. "We appear to be one dwarf short."

"He is late, is all. He travelled north to a meeting of our kin. He will come." Dwalin said. Being one of the only dwarves who stood in one place, content to drink, his was the only name she knew. "And you've brought a dwarf of your own."

"Ah, this is Kieran." Gandalf swept his arm in her direction. "We will be travelling the same road and...his expertise may come in handy."

"I certainly hope so. But _He_ isn't going to be too happy about it."

"No, I imagine not."

"Mr Gandalf," A voice interrupted their chat and with one glance at her, Dwalin went back to nursing his drink while Gandalf turned to see who was talking to him. "A glass of red wine as requested. It's got a fruity bouquet."

"Oh, cheers."

Keera was hard pressed not to laugh at the sight of the glass of wine in his hand. It looked like a thimble. She stood close to the door but still not so far that she couldn't see the lot. Bilbo watched them make an excellent attempt to eat him out of his house and sagged, distressed. He stomped up to her, annoyed.

"I don't suppose you want anything, hmm? Perhaps my prized tomatoes, the ham that I was saving for next month? The good wine that we're only supposed to open on special occasions?" His voice grew in intensity and panic with each word.

When she simply waved her hand to say no he deflated.

"Oh well, uh, that's a first." He looked her over carefully. "How'd you get mixed up with this lot?"

Keera almost laughed. If it weren't for the fact that Gandalf had introduced her as Kieran, making sure everyone was well under the assumption she was male she would have wondered if Bilbo Baggins was coming on to her. It would have been awkward to explain to him that he was trying to flirt with his first cousin twice removed.

She simply shrugged in response pointing to Gandalf. It was all he needed to tip him over the edge and he went over to the wizard in question and began complaining his ear off and turned very very red when instead of listening to him Gandalf simply aksed him what the matter was. It didn't get any better when the dwarves began tossing the cutlery around and burst into (a rather nice) song, using the dishes and knives and forks to play a beat.

"_Blunt the knives and bend the forks!  
Smash the bottles and burn the corks!  
Chip the glasses and crack the plates!  
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates_

_Cut the cloth and trail the fat!  
Leave the bones on the bedroom mat!  
Pour the milk on the pantry floor!  
Splash the wine on every door!_

_Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl;  
Pound them up with a thumping pole;  
And when you've finished, if they are whole,  
Send them down the hall to roll!_

_That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!" _

As pottery went flying across the room, Keera pitied poor Bilbo Baggins for the millionth time that night. But the look on his face when he rushed through the clutter to find everything stacked up neat and clean was worth it, she thought and just when Bilbo loosened up a bit, there was a pounding on the door.

Unlike the other times though, everything stopped. This particular knock had the feel of something important and everyone turned to the door as if one.

"He is here." Gandalf said oddly quiet yet loud in the silence and went to open to the door.

On the other side stood a dwarf who walked into the hobbit hole with a sense of importance and the second he stepped in, it stopped being Bilbo Baggins' home and turned into his. This, then, was a man who knew how to claim ownership of things. He was also, Keera realised, the dwarf Dwalin had said wouldn't be too happy about her traipsing along with them.

"Gandalf," He said in a deep, gravelly voice, his intense eyes looking only at the wizard. "I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice. I wouldn't have found it at all if it weren't for that mark on the door."

"Mark? There's no mark on that door, it was painted a week ago." Bilbo rushed again. It seemed to be all he was doing that night, rushing to see the state of his things.

"There is a mark, I put it there myself." Gandalf admitted. "Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company: Thorin Oakenshield."

"So," Thorin said, stepping forward handing his cloak off to one of the dwarves who received it with a grace that had been all but nonexistent before. "This is the Hobbit. Tell me Mr Baggins, have you done much fighting?" Thorin said as he circled poor Bilbo.

"Pardon me?"

"Axe or sword? What's your weapon of choice?"

"Well I do have some skill at conkers if you must know," Bilbo started off all confident only to wilt as Thorin crossed his arms and his apparent strength made itself obvious, "But I fail to see why that's relevant."

"Thought as much." Thorin said dismissively, turning to the dwarves, "He looks more like a grocer than a Burglar." Everyone laughed, even Gandalf and followed Thorin into the other room. Only Keera and Bilbo stood there, the latter confused and the former all knowing. She moved to follow the company with a pat to Bilbo's back.

When around Gandalf, this was a common state to be in. He would learn.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't anything you recognise.**

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_Chapter 2_

Keera lingered in the doorway watching, listening to the Dwarves talk. She did not belong there and until Gandalf did as much as introduce her she was happy to remain unnoticed. As it stood, the Dwarves had been drawing all of Thorin Oakenshield's attention to themselves, asking him question after question and he was preoccupied answering them. His eyes had flitted to where she stood but dismissed her in the same glance, probably assuming her to be there on Bilbo's side.

Balin asked as Thorin drank a gruel, made from whatever was left in Bilbo's pantry that wasn't fruit. "What news from the meeting at Ered Luin? Did they all come?"

"Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms."

"All of them!"

"And what did the Dwarves of the Iron Hills say?" Dwalin said gravely. "Is Dain with us?"

"They will not come." Thorin's statement had the cheers dying down to nothing. "They say this quest is ours and ours alone."

"You're going on a quest?" Bilbo said, interrupting them. He was obviously entirely unaware of Thorin's pedigree for he would not have dared offend him so if he knew. He was a Baggins after all, not usually so rude. Still he was obviously feeling the effect of Thorin's company, being quiet and calm for the most part instead of clucking and complaining about his pantry being empty.

Gandalf cleared his throat. "Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light."

She moved forward to help the hobbit feeling far more at home helping the poor man out than she would have been listening to Gandalf talk to the company. This was not her Quest, she was only there as a favour to Gandalf and had no doubt that whatever she might say (or not say as it were) would make no difference to the lot. They were set on their roads, she had heard enough of Thorin Oakenshield to know that he would not accept any help from the elves, freely given or not and that left them with very few paths indeed.

"Oh thank you!" Bilbo said as she took the tankards from his hand, freeing them so he could go get another candle, handing her one as well much to her surprise. It didn't take long and they headed back in both holding lights and caught the end of that conversation.

"-lies a single solitary peak." Gandalf said.

Bilbo Baggins might claim to be a respectable hobbit through and through with no thirst for adventure but it was obvious from the way he angled himself to lean in, always seemed to be listening to what everyone said, no matter what, that he was curious, unlike most hobbits. From what she remembered of him, he'd always been rather fond of maps anyway, the chance to see a map play out in reality, to perhaps correct the ones she had seen hidden away at his desk might aid him in the decision he would have to make. Bilbo would do just fine as their Burglar, once he came to terms with it that is. Of course that might take a while but he would, eventually, of that she had no doubt.

"The Lonely Mountain." He read out.

"Aye, Oin has read the portents and the portents say it is time." The dwarf she assumed was Gloin said and across from him, his brother Oin nodded.

"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain, as it was foretold." Uninterested in portents Bilbo went back to the larder as Oin began to recite with a sense of importance. "When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end."

"Uh, what beast?" Bilbo turned.

"Well that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire breather. Teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks." Bofur continued elaborating although by now, judging by Bilbo's pallor, he had gotten the hint. "Extremely fond of precious metals."

"Yes, I know what a dragon is."

"I'm not afraid, I'm up for it." The youngest dwarf in their company stood up, bursting with fervour and although she knew that he was much older than her Keera laughed at how young eh seemed. "I'll give him a taste of Dwarvish iron right up his jacksie."

"I'm not sure you could find a dragon's jacksie so easily." Bilbo muttered, still in a state of shock and she was hard pressed to control her laughter.

"Sit down Ori." Dori chided his little brother.

"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us." Balin said gravely, "But we number just thirteen. And not thirteen of the best, nor brightest."

The room erupted in angry shouts, each trying to figure out which one of them he was calling dim.

"We may be few in number," Fili said, "But we're fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf." He banged his hand on the table resolute and Bilbo whined low in his throat as the wood creaked.

"And you forget we have a wizard in our company, Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time." Kili said exuberantly.

This time the keening whine came from her as she smothered her laughter but Bilbo caught the shaking shoulders and snorted himself.

"Oh well no, I-I-I wouldn't say-"

"How many then?" Dori asked.

"What?"

"Well how many dragons have you killed?" Gandalf simply coughed avoiding answering the question. "Go on, give us a number."

Indistinct shouts were hurled all around the table and chaos erupted again.

A shout in Dwarvish by Thorin, who stood up, aggravated, calmed them down and they all sat, bowing to his authority. "If we have read these signs do you not think others will have read them too? Rumours have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for sixty years. Eyes look east to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected, do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours?! Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor!"

Shouts of assent rang out.

"You forget the front gate is sealed, there is no way into the mountain."

"That my dear Balin is not entirely true." Gandalf twirled his fingers fiddling with what appeared to be a key, one that seemed to mean something to Thorin.

"How came you by this?" The Dwarf Prince asked, softly.

"It was given to me by your father, by Thrain for safekeeping. It is yours now." Gandalf handed him the key with great ceremony.

"If there is s key" Fili said. "There must be a door."

Gandalf pointed to a point on the map with his pipe. "These runes speak of a hidden passage to the Lower Halls."

'There's another way in."

"Well if we can find it but Dwarf doors are invisible when closed." Gandalf sighed. "The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map and I do not have the skill to find it. But there are others in Middle Earth who can. The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth and no small amount of courage." He shared a meaningful glance with Bilbo who was confused as usual.

It had been quite some time since Gandalf met Bilbo in the day and yet, he hadn't told the hobbit of the role he would play. She wondered if perhaps this was Gandalf's odd sense of humour at play or simply a plot to engage his curiosity before setting him the task of being the Burglar.

"But if we are careful and cleaver, I believe that it can be done."

"That's why we need a Burglar."

"Hmm, and a good one too. An expert I imagine." Bilbo said. Gandalf looked to Keera and ducked his head, hiding a brief smile.

"And are you?" Gloin asked meaningfully and Bilbo looked behind him as if wondering who was being talked to.

"Am I what?"

"He said he's an expert, hey hey!" Oin cheered, his ear trumpet clearly not working too well but the Dwarves took this as assent and cheered with him.

"Me? No, no no no, I'm not a Burglar, I've never stolen a thing in my life!"

"Well I'm afraid I'll have to agree with Mr Baggins. He's hardly Burglar material." Balin agreed.

"And what of Mister Kieran then? Gandalf said he had skills that would come in useful. Perhaps he can be our Burglar." Dwalin said and eyes turned to her and she shrunk away from their stares.

Thorin frowned and stood walking closer to her. "I was under the impression you were with Mr Baggins. Gandalf made no mention of a strange dwarf joining us on our quest."

He stepped a bit too close for her comfort and in a trice she had a dagger out her sleeve and pointed to his neck in warning and the Dwarves got up surrounding her but Gandalf held them off.

"Thorin, I am afraid Kieran here does not take too well to people getting close. But he is an invaluable asset on a Quest."

Thorin backed off and the dagger was retracted to let Thorin breathe but she waved it from the left to the right slowly, in silent warning to not repeat the mistake.

"And why does he not say so himself?"

"Kieran here is under a...temporary vow of silence. Takes the mystique of being a Ranger rather seriously."

"A Ranger?"

"An honorary Ranger at the very least. No, Kieran is simply travelling on the same path as us, it is Master Baggins who is to be our Burglar."

"No no, as Mister Balin here said, I am not burglar material." Bilbo blustered.

The attention was diverted to Bilbo for a few seconds although Thorin fixed her with a glare.

"Aye, the wild is no place for gentle folk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves." Dwalin agreed, none there willing to have Bilbo on their Quest.

Chatter recommenced and having had enough of this Gandalf drew to his full height, Power in his voice and words, cowing them down.

"Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a Burglar then a Burglar he is!" Rationality resumed as Gandalf's power left the room. "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact they can pass unseen by most if they choose. And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of a hobbit is all but unknown to him which gives us a distinct advantage. You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this company and I have chosen Mr Baggins. There's a lot more to him than appearances suggest and he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know. Including himself."

Thorin and Gandalf shared a moment of silence Thorin clearly reeking of the sentiment, 'You cannot be serious.' Sadly as she was well aware, the wizard was tricky. A tricky, tricky old man indeed.

"Very well." Thorin acquiesced. "We will do it your way."

"No no!" Bilbo insisted but no one listened to him.

"Give him a contract."

"We're off." The Dwarves said as if it was settled already.

Balin handed Bilbo the contract. "It's just the usual, summary of out of pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements so forth."

Bilbo walked out, nervous clutching the contract to his hand and began reading it while Thorin turned to her again.

"And Kieran here? Will he be needing to sign a contract as well?"

"Kieran is here purely for a favour he owes me."

"I thought you said he was travelling the same paths as us." Dwalin said and Thorin turned suspicious and angry eyes to Gandalf.

"That is how he is repaying the favour." Gandalf said. "Kieran is an excellent asset to have on quests, he does not need much food, preferring to forage on his own, he can be as energetic as the youngest of Dwarves even with only an hour of sleep and has a knack for getting animals to agree to his whims. Truly, you would be remiss not to have him with us." It was an exaggeration but given her 'vow of silence' she could not exactly disagree.

"Hmm. And this vow of silence he's taken, it is voluntary?"

"I expect his tongue to be loosened as he gets accustomed to company. He is used to travelling alone. The hearty company of Dwarves is strange to him."

"He seems to be a stripling." In response to that Keera drew the dagger out and flipped it through her fingers playfully.

"A useful stripling."

"Alright then-," Thorin was interrupted as Bilbo, having reached a particularly disturbing part of the contract, read out loud.

"Incineration?"

"Oh Aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in a blink of an eye." Bofur said.

"You alright laddie?" Balin asked.

"Feel a bit faint." Bilbo said, putting his hand son his knees.

"Think furnace with wings." Bofur continued his informative streak.

"Air, I need air."

"Flash of light, searing pain then poof, you're nothing more than a pile of ash!"

After a moment of weaving and swaying Bilbo finally fell faint.

"Well then ranger, make yourself useful." Thorin said, eyes flashing in challenge and rolling her eyes so hard that she was certain Gandalf, at least, heard them squelch around in her skull, she bent over Bilbo's prone form, slinging him over a shoulder and sitting him down in the yellow armchair a few feet away. She splashed a few drops of water on Bilbo's face and he awoke nervous and scared, looking between her and the Dwarves that had gathered around and stared at him, expectant. Gandalf handed him a cup of tea and Bilbo nursed it while the wizard urged the rest to leave.

The two talked in hushed tones for a while but eventually Bilbo left him there, the contract lying unsigned on the table. Keera took his place in the armchair. The Dwarves were disheartened by his leaving and scattered all over the hobbit hole, they talked.

"Well, what do you think?" Gandalf asked her.

"Oh he'll be there. It might take a night's sleep, filled with dreams of adventure to help him get to the point but he's a brave under all that Baggins 'respectability'. Good man."

"And you my dear? It is our last night in the Shire, are you certain that you would not wish to visit your mother?"

"No." She shook her head. "I send her letters. She knows some of where I've been although she clearly does not talk of it. I shall leave another at her doorstep before we leave, I am not so brave as to talk to her anymore."

"And why is that?"

"I left. Ran away and hurt her in the process. I do not see what good it does to break her heart in person, to come down here for a brief hello and leave in the same breath."

"Instead you come by and say nothing at all?"

She sat, her head bowed, the hood hanging lower than ever. The gloved hands fiddled absently but she stood ultimately, making up her mind. "I shall see you at sunrise." She turned to leave as a low hum thrummed through the hobbit hole.

Gandalf stood and beamed.

"At sunrise."

It was on trembling feet that she walked up to the hobbit hole she had grown up in. The Shire was dark, no doubt there would be angry yells when she came knocking.

Her first knock went unnoticed and she knocked again. A light went on in the bedroom and moved through the halls to the door and she bounced on her toes. The door opened, slow and creaky and on the other side stood her mother, older than she remembered but as pretty as she always had been.

"Yes?" She asked polite, but annoyed and Keera sighed struck by the sight of her mother whom she had not seen in twenty odd years.

"Mumma?"

The look of annoyance disappeared, the frown smoothing itself out into a hopeful smile. "Myrtle?"

She dropped her hood then and was pulled into the house and swung into an embrace before it had even slipped past her ear.

"H-hi," She stuttered out, her arms coming around the shorter woman.

"Oh my dear sweet child, you're here." Her mother pulled back holding her at arm's length, fingers still holding on to her tight. "Oh let me look at you, you haven't aged a bit! I was so worried!"

"I'm sorry for worrying you, I just couldn't- I couldn't-"

"You couldn't stay, I understand darling."

"You do?"

"Of course, you weren't happy here, anyone with eyes could see that."

"I thought you'd be angry."

"I was but it was hard to hold on to it when you were happy. You are happy?"

"Yes I am. Only I didn't want to disappoint you and-"

"You'll never disappoint me." Her mother pulled her in again and kissed both cheeks, holding on to her tight. Her hands stayed where they were on the sides of Keera's face only moving occasionally to wipe away the tears that were flowing like never before and Keera in turn held on tight to her mother's wrists, the feel of her strong, wild pulse throbbing under her fingers more soothing than one would believe. The two Tooks clung to one another for an age but eventually Amaranthus' old bones protested and she led her incorrigible daughter into the drawing room, sitting her down on the armchair. "Now tell me what brings you to the Shire again?"

"Gandalf actually. I have to leave at dawn though."

Amaranthus' face dropped. "So soon?"

"Unfortunately. Mr Baggins will be joining us as well, although he doesn't know it yet."

"Baggins? Surely you don't mean dear Bilbo, why he's as respectable as they come!"

"You wouldn't think that if you'd seen the way he'd howled at the Dwarves tonight."

"Dwarves? In the Shire?!"

"Oh yes, thirteen of them in fact."

"Tell me everything."

The two heads bent close to one another and Keera began to tell her tale, starting with how she acquired her many names.

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	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I hope this chapter finds you all on a happy day and a special thanks to mariamah for reviewing, it made me feel all gooey on the inside.**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything you recognise.**

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_Chapter 3_

Thorin watched the hobbit hole a short distance away carefully. It was the same one he had watched the Ranger Kieran walk into but a few hours ago. The light still burned bright in that house even as the ones in Bilbo Baggins' home had been dimmed as the company went to sleep. He had seen the Ranger illuminated in the candle light of the woman hobbit who had answered the door. Thorin hadn't caught his face, only a glimpse of dark locks a few shades lighter than his own before being pulled into the hobbit hole. But he had seen the look on the woman's face clear as daylight even from the distance.

Love. Pure, unadulterated love. She looked at him like Mahal had descended into her home in his form and Thorin wondered what business a Dwarven Ranger had with a hobbit. And then he wondered how a Dwarven Ranger came to exist. Had he been abandoned or had he abandoned his own then? The treachery rankled but he supposed if it was for someone who looked at him as that woman did, it wasn't surprising.

The Burglar was down for the count, Thorin certainly did not expect the young Bilbo Baggins to cross his path again no matter what Gandalf said but even then he was still saddled with this newcomer. One who wouldn't even show his face, nor voice himself instead letting Gandalf and the shiny dagger he had hidden away in his sleeve do his talking for him. A dashed sight better than the Grocer at any rate but while Thorin appreciated that he did not have to like it.

This was _his_ Quest, for his honour, his pride and his people's gold and their _home_ and yet he had no control over it. His one ally was a fickle wizard who was far too fond of elves to be completely trusted. He could be believed yes, but trusted? Not exactly.

The doors of the hobbit hole he had been watching opened. From the window Thorin noted the position of the stars, still visible brightly. There was some time yet for dawn and for their company to meet. Thorin could only guess that the young Ranger did not want to sully the name of the good hobbit he had been visiting by being seen sneaking out of her home, not that anyone would notice given the sorry state fo the night patrolman, he had been very near drunk when Thorin ahd arrived and by now he was completely sloshed. Feeling faintly like a voyeur, for it felt to be an intimate moment he was watching, Thorin saw the Ranger step out and stand in the doorway, still saying his goodbyes. He sank onto a knee, bowing his head low and both the hobbit woman and Thorin were taken aback.

When he had been a young prince a sixty few years ago, Thorin had watched many people bow before his grandfather and thought it to be a moment of pride. He had thought it to be an ultimate show of fealty, the consummate expression of loyalty to genuflect and had watched it with awe, pride and no small amount of arrogance. But then the dragon descended and he had seen the elf who had bowed his head to his grandfather turn away without a second thought in their time of need, to leave them there to deal with Smaug themselves. Now it was simply an empty gesture, another show designed to put people at ease.

The hobbit woman apparently didn't think so as she put a hand to the Ranger's face with shiny eyes. With one last bow of his head he turned and left, melting into the darkness with an ease that made Thorin rather uneasy. He was nearly as tall as him but it was hard to make out since he slouched so much, always curling inwards. Earlier in the evening when the sleeves of his heavy cloak had shifted as he pointed the dagger at his neck ,Thorin had seen vambraces, metallic and heavy. No stranger to a fight then, this lad.

But a stranger to him. A stranger to every one of the dwarves in his company and that did not bode well. He was Gandalf's friend but Gandalf was a friend to elves as well so that did not signify much to Thorin.

No, he would keep an eye on this Ranger no matter what Gandalf said.

In a little under two hours the dwarves and wizard stood with their ponies ready. The sun had risen and they stood at the outskirts of the village raring to leave. The hobbit hadn't signed the contract after all so it was without a second thought that they left, no goodbyes, no farewell and no thanks as well.

"Let's go." Thorin called out, impatient to get on their way and they mounted the ponies.

"I believe we should wait a bit, I imagine Bilbo will be along soon." Gandalf blustered.

Thorin scoffed. "I doubt it."

"The Halfling is too scared, Gandalf." Balin agreed, a hand on his waist and he shook his head. "I do not imagine we'll be seeing him again."

"I don't know about that." Kili said, "Seemed to be interested didn't he?"

"Seemed terrified too." Dwalin disagreed.

"Care to make a wager?" The two princes smirked and Thorin turned to Gandalf while the rest played. He let them have this moment, once they were out of these small hills and into the real wilderness they would have to stay sharp.

"And where is the Ranger? Has he slipped away into the dark?"

"Scouting ahead I imagine, Kieran's cautious and we as a company are not too good at being inconspicuous."

As if summoned by his mention the Ranger returned, riding a pony of his own. Kili and Fili watched him, curious, and offered up a Good Morning that was met with a nod.

"And what about you Master Kieran?" Kili asked.

"Will you take us up on the wager?"

"And you Gandalf?"

The Ranger tilted his head in silent question.

"Well about Master Baggins and whether he'll show up of course."

"We've got twenty coins that he will."

"And Ori and Bofur as well."

"The rest don't think so."

"Well I believe I shall put my money on the young hobbit." Gandalf said. "Always go with the long odds I say."

"How about it then?" Kili asked the Ranger who made a show of his hands and Kili and Fili turned to Gandalf, confused.

"Ah, Kieran has no money on him at all and does not think it fair to make a wager like that."

"No money at all?!"

"How do you travel?"

"Easily." Gandalf answered, "But if he had any money it would be on Master Baggins as well."

"Really?"

The Ranger nodded and went away to the front.

"Why won't he talk to us?"

"He doesn't have a problem talking to you Gandalf."

"I think it would be more difficult _not_ to talk to Gandalf than to talk to him lads." Balin laughed.

They set off, the pace set by Gandalf at the front. As the one who knew these woods best for now he would lead but it seemed to them that the pace was rather slow for so tame a place.

"Wait! Waait!" The company came to a halt, surprised to hear the voice of the hobbit. "I signed it." Bilbo said, huffing as if he had run the whole way, sounding utterly ecstatic.

Balin inspected the document carefully deeming it valid within seconds. "Everything appears to be in order. Welcome Master Baggins to the company of Thorin Oakenshield." Surprised laughs were shared by the dwarves but Thorin remained unmoved.

This was a complication to his plan. There seemed to be far too many of those and he turned away annoyed yet unable to change anything. "Give him a pony."

* * *

The dwarves, Bilbo realised, made it look easy, but riding a pony was anything but. He shifted from side to side, trying to find the right place but no matter what he was still uncomfortable. At the front of the company Thorin rode his pony proud and regal and Bilbo was rather in awe of his bearing and how easily he rode. Bilbo was sure almost certain that if he wanted to Thorin would find himself easily able to ride a horse even. There was a rhythm to this but _he_ didn't have the rhythm discerned quite yet. He wasn't surprised that the Dwarves had, if the song last night was anything to go by they were not unused to it finding the hidden beat in things nor, in fact, to adventures.

He rode at the back where Kili and Fili were. They had thumped him on his back but left him alone to watch as he tried to figure out what to do with a pony. Gandalf slowed down and fell back to ride next to him and Bilbo was just a slight bit relieved at having a familiar face even though it wasn't as familiar as he'd like it.

He did not understand dwarves. He did not understand Gandalf either but he wasn't really supposed to so Bilbo was quite alright with that. It was always so with Gandalf, easy to act familiar with the wizard despite him being little more than a stranger. Pouches of money began flying past him and Bilbo began to wonder.

"What's that about?"

"Oh they took wagers on whether or not you'd turn up. Most of them bet that you wouldn't."

"And what did you think?" Bilbo still couldn't' quite figure out what it was that Gandalf had seen in him to make him the fourteenth member of the company. He wasn't brave, not smart, not a good fighter. He wasn't even young, what could he possibly have to offer them?

"Well..."Gandalf dithered but Bilbo's answer came in the bag of money that found its way into Gandalf's hand. The wizard laughed and tossed it in his hand before tucking it into his saddle bag. "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second."

Bilbo didn't know what to make of that but he didn't have to. A tickle started in his nose and he let out a mighty sneeze that wiped all thought from his mind.

"It's horse hair. Having a reaction." He laughed and began searching his pockets. In every pocket he checked but found nothing, no little square cloth with BB embroidered into it and panicked. "No wait, wait, stop! Stop! We have to turn around."

He could see Thorin and Dwalin turning back to look at him witheringly but he couldn't help it, a hobbit in the wild and without a handkerchief? Unheard of!

"What on earth is the matter?"

"I forgot my handkerchief!"

"Here," Bofur yelled and Bilbo looked up in relief only for it to ebb away as the dwarf tore a piece of his tunic and threw it at him. "Use this."

"Move on." Thorin said and the company began again.

Bilbo did not know how he could explain the importance of a handkerchief to this lot and began slowly falling to pieces on the inside.

"You'll have to manage without pocket handkerchiefs and a good many other things Bilbo Baggins before we reach our journey's end." Gandalf said, his voice only slightly chiding and Bilbo was thankful for that. "Kieran," He called out to the front of the pack and Bilbo noticed the Ranger riding ahead. "Ride with us."

He slowed down his pace and the three were soon riding apace, Bilbo between the two experts and it was a relief. The pony he was on had been weaving on the path and he had no clue how to stop it from doing so. Kieran reached over and adjusted Bilbo's grip on the reins and the difference was immediately noticeable, the pony had stopped lurching to the side every so often and walked straight on now.

"Ah thank you Mister Kieran."

He simply nodded and Gandalf continued. "Home is behind you now Bilbo Baggins, the world lies ahead. You will like it I think, although it will take a while for you to admit it. The Took-ish wanderlust in you has been suppressed for too long with the Baggins respectability."

They camped for a short while for lunch. Bilbo already having gone without breakfast, second breakfast _and_ elevenses was utterly famished and grateful beyond he could express.

"Don't get used to it." Thorin said sternly having correctly gauged his relief. "The going will not always be so easy."

Bilbo shirked from the Dwarf king's sight wide-eyed. _This_ was easy? He could not fathom such a thing and the longing for home took up its place in his heart again. He may have gone looking for Elves in the forest as a child but he had heard enough from Thorin to know that he wouldn't be seeing any Elves on this trip at all if the Quest went his way. But he cheered up as he realised that he still had hope. After all, it hadn't seemed to have gone Thorin's way yet.

"Poor Master Baggins, one would think there are no adventures to be had by Hobbits!" Kili said but it wasn't mean, simply sympathetic. It would seem that the Dwarves thought a peaceful life to be a burden rather than a boon.

"Well there aren't. There are no adventures, quests, no undertakings, no endangerments-"

"Sounds rather dull." Fili said.

"Dull? It is but respectable, no hobbit goes off on _adventures_!"

"And yet here you are." Balin said with a wink and Bilbo was taken aback. He hadn't quite wrapped his head around that fact. It didn't seem real, that here he was in the company of Dwarves, royal Dwarves at that and a wizard and a Ranger all on a journey to steal back their home from a dragon.

A real live _dragon_.

"Hobbits do not leave the Shire often then?" Balin asked and Bilbo shook off the thought of the dragon.

"No, certainly not. Well perhaps to go to Bree but never beyond that. Why I'll be the first hobbit to be so far from home in ages!"

"Is that so Master Baggins?"

"Well yes, apart from the little Took girl. Don't know where she went though, perhaps she hadn't gotten so far."

"The little Took girl?" Gandalf said ponderously, taking another puff of his pipe. "I don't believe I've heard that tale." There was something in Gandalf's voice, a certain twinkle in his eyes that made Bilbo uncomfortable. It was the same look he had when he'd said he was looking for someone to share in an adventure, the all-knowing look that had landed him here. Still, Bilbo would take a pair of ears to hear his tales anyway.

"Well there was little Myrtle Took you see. She ran off a few years ago."

"Whatever drove her away?"

"No one knows but she was quite an oddity. They said...well perhaps I shouldn't repeat rumours."

"You can't just leave it at that." Balin protested.

"They say-" Bilbo stopped as Kieran made to move out of camp. He didn't think he was so bad a storyteller to lose a person's attention so quickly and it put him out a bit. Kieran looked to him though and through the hood twisted his ear a bit in silent apology, just like they'd learnt when they were hobbitlings and Bilbo was mollified. Kieran left the camp, Thorin's eyes on his back watching him carefully.

"I wouldn't pay any mind to him he's just gone off to scout as usual." Gandalf said, "Go on."

"Well they say she was half elf."

And that caught Thorin's attention.

"Why did they say that?" Kili asked, intrigued, while Thorin's eyes had turned stormy simply at the mention of Elves.

"Well she had tiny feet with not a single hair on them. People were surprised she could walk at all, they were certain she would not be able to hold her weight on them." It had not made things any better that the odd child came nine months after the Took couple had gone on a trade meet to Bree in a time when Elves were there as well, their healers visiting a child who had gotten sick. Bilbo remembered hearing his parents talk about his cousin often, how strange it was that she had begun walking at so young an age and running too, all while he had only been crawling. They had only been a few years apart but Myrtle had actually begun walking before him and it had shocked the good people of Hobbiton. "She even needed _shoes_! No other hobbit has ever needed shoes in the history of the Shire. Mind you I never took any stock in the rumours. She was too much like her father. They were close too and when he died, just a few days before her thirtieth birthday, she disappeared."

She had had the same crooked grin as Gerry Took and his eyes as well. Still Bilbo could see why she was considered Elvish, she had grown to be rather tall, taller than him and most of the lads in the Shire. But she had been one of his favoured cousins, unlike the other stick in the mud hobbitlings she would willingly go with him looking for elves in the forest and played at battling orcs. In hindsight he supposed it wasn't much of a surprise that she'd run off.

An uproar had followed only to die down soon. They hadn't thought her to be a proper hobbit and hadn't been surprised when she'd gone. His father had been very short with the few vicious gossips in the village who had taken to saying she had gone to the Elves to look for her real kin. Amaranthus had been a right brick about it throughout and not given a hoot to what anyone had said so eventually people had stopped caring when they got no reaction.

"And where is the young hobbit now?"

"No one knows, she hasn't been heard of in many years. Most assume her dead but her mother seems to think otherwise." But she was her mother after all, probably couldn't bear to believe her child dead. Bilbo had always thought she'd settled a bit outside Bree really, she couldn't have gone farther than that after all, not all on her own.

* * *

"You missed quite a story there." Gandalf said quietly to Keera who stood watch after returning to camp. Thorin pretended to sleep but it did not fool either of the two and they maintained their low voices.

"Did I now?"

"Oh yes, you did. He thinks of you quite fondly, your cousin."

"That surprises me."

"Hobbits tend to do that."

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Guten Morgen to all and thanks to abbystar30 for reviewing.**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it I don't own it.**

* * *

_Chapter 4_

Three weeks into their journey Bilbo had finally gotten used to the aches from riding a pony all day long, the uneven meals and sleeping on rocks and sticks with only a thin bed roll between him and the ground. Unfortunately he had also gotten used enough to it to be wide awake late into the night by something as simple as Bombur's snores. Before he would have fallen asleep before his head hit the hard scrap of fluff he called a pillow.

Keera could not begrudge him his sleeplessness, not when she herself was disgusted and yet fascinated by the moths that continued to hover around his face despite the fact that he inhaled them into his mouth with each snore.

Bilbo stood and stretched walking towards the ponies. Because of where she was 'sleeping' leaning against a rock facing camp only a few feet away from the ponies, she could see and hear him perfectly.

"Hello girl, who's a good girl?" Bilbo patted his pony on the white patch that ran down her muzzle. "It's our little secret Myrtle. You must tell no one, shh shh." Bilbo whispered as crunching sounds filled the air and Keera looked up in shock. For a moment she thought he had figured out it was her under the hood but it was apparently his pony that Bilbo was talking to as he snuck an apple to her.

He named his pony after her?! Her cousin named his pony after her!

She almost broke her vow of silence right then and there but a screech rang out and she was distracted.

"What was that?" Bilbo asked, panicking just a bit.

"Orcs." Kili said and Keera still reeling from the fact that Bilbo had named his pony Myrtle frowned at the young Dwarf although he couldn't see it. That wasn't an Orc scream at all it was a simple craban squawk, one that was common here but when Bilbo pranced (pranced really, not skipped, not jumped, _pranced_) closer to the fire she saw what Kili was doing.

"Orcs?!" Bilbo's soft exclamation woke Thorin up from his resting place against the boulder with a start. He had taken his place there, directly opposite her own and she knew exactly why that was. Bilbo wasn't a part of the company, he was a bit too burdensome for that and also too hobbit like to truly fit in, but she was held in more suspicion than even him. Many a time she had seen even the Dwarves hovering around Bilbo when she came a bit closer to him and it was nice to see that they had enough decency to make to protect the weakest member of their group.

It annoyed her but the caution was to be applauded. Rangers were often met with such a reaction and while some construed it to be fear she knew it was dread. Rangers defended those who could not but their presence usually meant there was a threat lurking that was intent upon attacking in the first place.

But it made handing Bilbo an apple for elevenses quite a task.

"Throat cutters." Fili said still smoking his pipe. "There'll be dozens of them out there. The Lone-lands are crawling with them."

Kili began elaborating. "They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet, no screams. Just lots of blood."

Keera doubted that Kili had ever faced Orcs or even seen them. Quick and quiet? Orcs liked to blow their horns, rouse the village and watch them run and hunt them down. They took pleasure in the screams of their victims, the violent creatures that they were. It was a rare strike from the Orcs that was quiet and usually worse things were to follow. Not without reason were Orcs quiet.

Kili and Fili were unable to keep their mirth in for longer and laughed only to stop abruptly when their uncle chastised them.

"You think that's funny?" Thorin stalked, glaring at the two young Dwarves and they instantly looked abashed. "You think a night raid by Orcs is a joke?"

"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili defended their bit of fun but still couldn't bring himself to meet Thorin's eye.

"No you didn't." Thorin spat out and walked away from the fire, finding a new place near the edge of camp. "You know nothing of the world."

"Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate Orcs." Balin said earning the attention of more than just the two Dwarf princes and Bilbo. A lot of the others had woken up as well upon hearing the two brothers' snickers and were listening to the old Dwarf with foggy minds. "After the dragon took The Lonely Mountain King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient Dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first.

Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs led by the most vile of all their race: Azog the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the King. Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing. Taken prisoner or killed we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him." Balin turned to look at Thorin's back with awe in his eyes, leaving no doubt as to whom the 'him' was referring to. "A young Dwarf prince facing down the pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armour rent wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield. Azog the Defiler learnt that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied and drove the Orcs back and our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast nor song that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived and I thought to myself then, '_There_ is one who I could follow. _There_ is one I could call King.'"

When Thorin turned around, he found himself looking at all the Dwarves in the company staring at him in utter awe.

"And the Pale Orc? What happened to him?" In that moment she was proud of Bilbo for asking that question and just looking at Thorin with moony eyes. Then she remembered he had named his pony after her.

"He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago." Thorin answered. Keera wondered what it must have been like for him to hear his praises sung so. It didn't happen to her often but when it did, she had a tendency to cringe and hide.

But by the looks Balin and Gandalf exchanged Azog's death seemed unlikely, which was just fantastic wasn't it? All the final three members of the line of Durin travelling in one group, ripe for the picking.

Still it was, admittedly, a wonderful retelling of a tale, filled with honour, bravery and royalty and loyalty, something that would make anybody look at Thorin Oakenshield with awe but she wasn't interested in any of that (that particular combination often lead to stupid, unnecessary deaths in her opinion) and well...she had already heard it before. She overheard Balin tell the same story a few years ago when she'd travelled to the Blue Hills and with an audience that was more than just two young Dwarves he told it better. When she had first heard it, it had been in the middle of the marketplace where the elder Dwarves had gathered to smoke their pipes and many of the others there had contributed to the tale as well a few of them veterans from the same war that had just been talked about.

It had done an admirable job of tempering her outrage and with only a slight stomp to her feet she made her way over to Gandalf.

"He named his pony Myrtle?!"She whispered.

"Ah well, I told you your cousin was fond of you."

"At this rate they'll know I'm a woman pretty soon."

"Oh?"

"Yes when I tell them that they are all stupid and deserve a boot up their-"

"No need to be so crude my dear. And have faith, _I_ do."

"Really?"

"Yes I'm quite certain that when they find out it will be entirely accidental not on purpose at all."

"Oh really? And how will that accident happen? The only people who might know who I am are in Rivendell and Oakenshield intends on avoiding them completely."

"Yes well, his plans do seem to be unravelling."

She narrowed her eyes at him, the amused tinge to his voice raising her hackles. Gandalf intended on messing with the plan. That did not bode well for anyone who liked the plan which meant that soon Thorin Oakenshield was going to get even more unbearable. "What are you planning old man?"

"Plan? Oh I ever plan anything."

"You guide things to happen as you want them though. What do you intend to do?"

"I intend on letting things take their course, nothing more and you my dear should go to sleep. I trust you to keep your own secrets well enough."

"Fine."

* * *

"Mr Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?" Dori yelled up to the front of the group where Gandalf was leading them.

"It is raining Master Dwarf and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world, find yourself another wizard."

Bilbo wondered if the other wizards could change the weather. Would it take a lot of power or was it all just a trick like Gandalf's fireworks? He hadn't even known that Gandalf had actual powers until that night in his Hobbit Hole when he had spoken and his voice had shadows creeping out from him against all the light in the room. Then Bilbo wondered if there were any other wizards in the world, there weren't any in the tales he had read, nor any in the stories his mother had told him and Belladonna Took (Baggins she may be but only in name, his mother was a Took through and through) had been better versed in the ways of the world than any other in Shire. "Are there any?"

"What?"

"Other wizards."

"There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman the White. Then there are the tow Blue Wizards...Do you know I've quite forgotten their names." Of course he did. Bloody convenient wasn't it, then again Gandalf was very old, he had been old ever since he could remember. Had Gandalf the grey ever been young he wondered.

"And who's the fifth?"

"Well that would be Radagast the Brown."

"Is he a great wizard or is he ...more like you?" The question earned him an annoyed look from Gandalf and a thump on his back from the Ranger Kieran who had sidled up next to him.

"I think he's a very great wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others." Given the sort of company he was in right now, Bilbo didn't blame him. In fact after this 'adventure' was done perhaps he could settle down with a few chickens and maybe a pig as well. "He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the east and a good thing too for always evil will look to find a foothold in this world."

"Evil?"

"There have always been things in the forest to the east lurking and waiting, ever since a long time ago when a darker power had made itself a fortress there. Darkness calls to other such forms and so many creatures, twisted and malevolent, flock to it why even human sorcerers dabbling in the darker arts find their black magicks come easier to them there."

"Human sorcer-"Before he could even complete his sentence the Ranger kicked his pony into gear and he rode faster, ahead of them and Gandalf. "Apparently human sorcerers do not interest the Ranger there."

"Yes well he's not very patient." Gandalf said, loudly and pointedly enough for even Kieran riding ahead to hear and he turned spreading one arm out while bending at the waist, still on his pony talking without words easily enough.

'You're welcome', the gesture read and the company laughed with the sole exception of Thorin. Even Dwalin snorting a bit at the wizard's obvious chagrin.

"To tell the truth it was sheer luck that I managed to find him at all. He wanders as much if not more than I do." Gandalf said confidingly.

"Doesn't he have a home?"

"Too fond of the road for things such as home."

"Those who have one often take it for granted." Thorin said, his voice heard over the sound of the rain pelting down on them.

The Ranger was obviously not a part of their company. If it had been at any point in doubt it wasn't now as he made a very rude gesture at the King under the Mountain. It was so rude in fact that the Dwarves gasped and the hobbit was confused.

He had never seen it used before.

"Umm Kieran if you'd be so kind as to ride ahead, I get the feeling we're being watched." Gandalf said and Kieran did exactly that, taking the out that Gandalf had given him. "Thorin, it would do well to remember that he is not your subject or your subordinate in any way. It would not do too well to lose the leader of our company so soon and Fili is not yet ready to be King."

"You think too highly of the Ranger." Thorin dismissed the threat easily although Bilbo didn't think it wise. Kieran moved silently and had already pointed a dagger at his neck once already, Thorin should really have taken it seriously.

"You underestimate his anger. He is slow to it but once it is there, it does not go away so easily." Gandalf cautioned.

That much was made obvious when Kieran chose to sleep in the trees instead of in camp. IT was also obvious when he dropped out of the tree in front of Thorin's pony early in the morning when they left, sending the animal bolting with the King still on his back.

The rest of the Dwarves had glared but even thought they could not see his face nor hear his speak, his movements spoke of lightness and glee and Gandalf sighed.

"I was afraid this was going to happen."

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello my darlings, how are you all doing today? Fabulous, I hope and speaking of fabulous, thank you very much Avacii and Aldela Krahn for reviewing, your words are supermegafoxyawesomehot.**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it I don't own it.**

* * *

_Chapter 5_

She found one lone tall tree standing a bit away from the edge of the burnt clearing where the farmer and his family had lived and with one nod to Gandalf, climbed it up within seconds. At the very top she looked around but the mountains rose around them and the trees rose with them hiding far too many things. This was the worst possible place they could have chosen to camp, while the family might have felt comfortable and cosseted away but for a company like theirs that was always on the lookout it was bad. At the very top alone she sighed. From there she could see the Dwarves setting up, Bombur already having taken his many ladles out Thorin shouting out instructions imperiously and her face darkened as she thought back to what he'd said.

"Take home for granted do I?" Keera whispered to herself as she looked out from the top of the tree whittling a little face into the bark. "Says the King under the mountain who has neither throne nor mountain and acts like he's all that." She drove the tip of the sharp dagger into the chin of the hooded face and smiled leaning back and looking at the perfect likeness of herself she had carved.

Those words hurt. Mostly because she had often wondered the very same thing, she was still guilty for having left a very comfortable life behind all for her own sake. It seemed selfish and tore at her especially when she passed by villages that had been burnt and left empty by their inhabitants, when she came across people seeking refuge after an Orc attack. She at least had a home and she had left it behind her. She had picked at that self inflicted wound many, many times and when Thorin said that it had torn the gash wide open.

"Wouldn't like it very much if I said that Erebor was lost long before Smaug now would he? Wouldn't like it if I said his grandfather had brought it down upon himself and his people by hoarding so much gold. No he'd try to cut my head off if I said that but he has no problems digging into-"

Into her own faults. Because that's what they were really, her own faults. She was selfish and callous and for all the guilt she felt for leaving him when she thought of her adventures, when she thought of that unending road, she could not bring herself to regret even one bit of it. She was selfish and while she had accepted it she wasn't exactly fine with it.

"Damn royal Dwarf with a stick up his-" A glint off in the distance caught her eye, surprising her. She took the spy glass out of her pocket and looked through it finding herself staring at a cave, something catching the light there.

Keera dropped down the branches landing on her feet and walking up to Gandalf who was looking around them uneasily and stomping his way away from the company.

"There's a cave a bit away." She said as soon as he was close enough.

"A cave?"

"Yes. This place feels too closed off, I won't rest easy until I see what's in it."

"I am going to look ahead for the way to Imladris, perhaps I'll manage to guide them to those ways without them noticing if I can find the hidden pass."

With a nod she left but even as she did she could hear him yelling.

"Come on Bombur, we're hungry."

She flew through the trees. It was her usual way of travelling, left less of a trail for creatures to pick up on. It had taken a while for her to get so proficient in it to not disturb the trees too much but by now she had learnt and it was instinctive to her. When she ran on branches she knew exactly where to step so that the branch wouldn't break, knew which ones would hold her weight easily and which were to be avoided. Now the tree's leaves didn't so much as rustle when she passed through them.

She found the cave fats enough and it didn't take a genius to realise it was a Troll-Hoard. The stench alone was horrendous and taking one big lungful of air she quickly went in for a brief look around it. There was a hand there, still stuck to the twisted iron grate and it looked fresh barely a day's decay on it. The Trolls then, were out there somewhere. They must have come down from the Ettenmoors which was bad enough news as it was but judging by the fairly few (for Trolls) bones littering the place they hadn't had a decent meal in ages. And with her was a pack of noisy Dwarves travelling on a herd of noisy ponies.

This did not look good for them.

She had just reached the mouth of the cave when a Warg stepped into her view, an Orc riding on it. It looked around desperately but the Warg was getting annoyed by the smell of Troll and itching to go away and so they did.

"Zaboth Uruk azubuizish. Khozd-shrakun, zaugimbatul!" He shrieked in that innately screechy Orcish way and she stilled immediately.

It was a scout, hunting them and sent by the Zaboth Uruk, the Pale Orc and he was desperate to find them and it would not take him long at all, not with the Dwarves camping in plain sight. She had to do something so she waited until the Warg was out of sight and took to the trees again not bothering waiting any longer than that. Wargs didn't have the best of sight but they had a good sense of smell, but luckily the Troll-Hoard was doing an excellent job of disguising her and it didn't take her long before she was far ahead of the Warg who had to slow down considerably when the trees grew too close by while she soared above without a hitch.

Keera dropped down from the tree she was in carefully looking around the little place. It had a few rocks here and there and the trees weren't as dense here and it was far enough from the actual campsite that the scout wouldn't find the Dwarves too easily. It would have been the perfect place to camp really if Thorin hadn't been such a knucklehead and decided to set up in the ruins of the farmhouse and with a sigh she set about creating a fake camp site there.

She took out the little piece of cloth from Bofur's tunic that he had given to Bilbo as a handkerchief that Bilbo had in turn given to her to temporarily keep her herbs in and placed it near a rock, making sure to make it look like it had been accidentally left behind. There had been a brief rain shower so she luckily didn't need to create prints in the ground but she kicked it about a bit anyway. A few old coals that she had tucked away were placed in the centre of the clearing after being slightly warmed and with that and a few broken branches and slashed greens it looked perfect. It was easy enough work but it had taken her longer than she'd liked.

She climbed up another tree and waited until the Orc saw the campsite and went off to report it to his master, noting the direction he was going in and only then did she turn away and run in the opposite direction, certain that the Dwarves must have gotten into a bad situation, especially with the Troll-Hoard nearby.

As she grew nearer to their campsite she came across Gandalf returning and they fell into step with one another, walking quickly back to camp.

"Gandalf, we need to get the Dwarves moving right away, there are Trolls in these parts!"

"Trolls? All the way down here?"

"I found a Troll-Hoard and that's not all-"

But they had gotten close enough to where the farmer's house to realise something was very wrong. Bombur's snores weren't heard, neither was the fire that the Dwarves always kept on until the dawn came up, no matter what.

"I'm afraid, Gandalf, that we might have lost our company."

The camp was empty the fire long burned out with no one to feed it and they followed the trial to a light a bit away.

"I'm afraid my dear you might be quite right."

"-A load of rubbish! I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scarf them I say, boots and all." A Troll was heard to be saying and they finally grew close enough to see what had happened to their companions and Keera wished there was a way she could violently hit her head on the nearest tree without making too much noise.

How exactly the Dwarves had managed to get all of themselves in sacks, half on the forest floor the other half roasting on a spit, she didn't quite know. The Trolls should have gone for the ponies, they were larger and didn't have pointy weapons either, how did Trolls (_Trolls_! They were ridiculously dumb!) manage to get thirteen Dwarves to let go of their weapons long enough to strip them to their skivvies? And tie them up in burlap sacks?!

"I think this calls for some sorcery don't you?" Gandalf said and went off to the eastern side where a giant boulder lay.

"He's right. Nothing wrong with a bit of raw Dwarf." One of the Trolls picked up Bombur, swinging him over his head getting ready to drop him into his mouth, swinging braided beard and all. "Nice and crunchy."

"No, no not that one, he-he's infected." Bilbo stuttered and she realised what he was trying to do. Putting the Trolls off eating them just long enough for the sunlight to turn them into stone and she stood right where she was.

With Gandalf and her there, they could have taken down the Trolls easily but she didn't want to deny Bilbo his moment of glory. It would be good for him to learn to depend upon his wits to save himself and it would be good for Thorin to see exactly what stuff hobbits were made of.

"Huh?"

"You what?" The one who wanted to eat them 'boots and all' said, still turning the wheel of the spit.

"He's got worms in his...tubes."

"Ewww!" The Troll said and threw Bombur away and he fell upon Kili, Oin and Thorin heavily.

"In fact they all have, they're infested with parasites. It's a terrible business, I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't."

"Parasites, did he just say parasites?!" Oin cried out, offended and she stopped wondering how the Trolls got them to drop their weapons.

Damn Dwarves.

"We don't have parasites, _you_ have parasites!" Kili added and they all burst into a hue and cry over parasites, whining and complaining and off to the side, she silently flailed in anger and frustration biting down upon her gloved fist to stop the screech of sheer annoyance. Thorin kicked them then having realised exactly what Bilbo was up to and they all shut up and she was suddenly very very glad for his presence.

Quickly then they all realised what Bilbo was doing and looked at him with a cross of surprise and awe before chiming in.

"I've got parasites as big as my arm." Oin said.

"Mine are the biggest parasites, I've got huge parasites!"

One by one they all began shouting claiming they all had parasites.

"What would you have us do then? Let 'em all go?"

"Well."

"You think I don't know what you're up to? This little ferret's taking us for fools!"

"Ferret?!"

"Fools?!"

The dawn will take you all!" Gandalf said dramatically and walked up the boulder.

"Who's that?"

"No idea."

"Can we eat him too?"

One slam of his staff against the rock and it broke apart, the sun's lights streaming through the little gap to quickly turn the Trolls to stone, petrifying them and hurrahs rang out.

Gandalf and Keera waited to the side as the Dwarves got back into their clothes and watched. After this incident they were taking to Bilbo better, Dwalin even going so far as clapping Bilbo on his back for a job well done, an action that left the hobbit stumbling under the force of it and rubbing his back with a wince after.

"You say you found a Troll-Hoard?"

"Yes, one filled with some interesting things, a few swords as well, you might be interested in them."

"That does sound like a good idea, I should like to see Bilbo with some means to defend himself."

"Gandalf that's not all. There was an Orc scout on a Warg, looking for the Dwarves."

"A scout? Then an Orc pack is not far behind."

"No, I left a few misleading trails and set up a fake campsite as well but it shouldn't take them long to catch up to us. Gundabad Wargs aren't exactly slow."

"No they aren't. We shall see to the Troll-Hoard and leave immediately."

"There's more."

"More?"

"The scout was angry with himself for losing the Dwarves. He said his master would kill him. A certain Zaboth Uruk."

Gandalf's face fell and he looked across the clearing to Thorin gravely. "Azog lives."

"And he's still after Thorin."

"I am afraid that he will not be willing to believe that."

"Especially when it comes from me, so don't tell him but we'll need to keep a close eye on him and Kili and Fili as well. As next in Durin's line they'll be targeted as well."

Gandalf sighed heavily. He waited a few moments but left, crossing the clearing to make his way over to Thorin.

"Where did you go?" Bilbo asked, moving quiet enough on his feet that she did not notice him come up next to her until he was a few feet away. It was more than anyone else had managed and was also only because she had grown up with him so quite a feat indeed.

She pointed at the mountain wall coming up behind them and somehow managed to make a gesture for 'cave'.

"A cave nearby?"

"A Troll-Hoard." Thorin said walking up to them and stopping right in front of her, looming imperiously. It would have made a better impression on her if she hadn't seen him in a burlap sack a little over an hour ago. "Take us to it."

It didn't take them long to reach it and when they did the younger ones stood outside, standing guard along with Bilbo and her. Keera had had enough of Troll smells and would rather not go back down into it. Instead she kept a watchful eye out, keeping an arm ready on her dagger. If they were ambushed here it would do some heavy damage, especially with how closed in the whole area was.

Off at the side Fili and Kili stifled yawns as did Ori. The three were used to working with few hours of sleep but not with none at all and their entire night had been spent wondering if they would come out alive.

"So what's in the cave?" Fili said sidling up to her.

Why they insisted on asking her things only to need Gandalf to interpret them she didn't quite know. But after the many weeks spent in their company she'd learnt enough to somewhat communicate with them.

She wasn't unused to using hands to answer questions, when she went spying on people there were many times when she could only speak to her partner via fingers but they usually talked about how many people there were and how well armed they were. Answering question about where her daggers were made wasn't exactly something she could sign to them.

Still she tried, rubbing her thumb and index finger to indicate money and a finger pointed to his sword to indicate weapons. E understood it well enough and was just about to ask her another question when his uncle came out of the cave, followed by all the others and the tow brothers followed him and Dwalin to a bit away where they made plans.

"Bilbo," Gandalf said handing a small sword over to her cousin. "Here. This seems to be about your size."

"I can't take this."

"The blade is of Elvish make which means it will glow blue when Orcs or goblins are nearby."

Bilbo hesitated, looking around flustered. "I have never used a sword in my life."

"And I hope you never have to. But if you do remember this: True courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one."

"But wouldn't Kieran be a better owner than me? If it is of Elvish make-"

"IT is a sword that will glow in the presence of Orcs and Goblins, for one like Kieran who prefers to stay in the shadows that can be quite a dangerous thing my dear fellow. But I am certain that he would be glad of the offer. Many a time has he lamented that the warning that danger is near might also bring danger nearer."

It was true. How was a girl supposed to sneak up on Orcs if she had a glowing sword? And it wasn't even a sword anyway, more like an ornamental cheese dagger. What need the High Elves had for a cheese dagger that glowed when Orcs and Goblins were near wasn't really she wanted to think about though.

"Something's coming!" Thorin shouted.

"Stay together, hurry now. Arm yourselves!" Gandalf said and they all rushed out from there, Bilbo clutching his new sword with awe.

Keera had seen many strange things in her lifetime, truly strange, often amazing things that a lot of people had never even heard about. But she still didn't expect the rabbits pulling a sled with a panicky old man with bird excrement running down his face. That was pushing the boundaries.

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!"

Yes, definitely strange.

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**Zaboth Uruk azubuizish. Khozd-shrakun, zaugimbatul!- If I've done this correctly (which I doubt, Black Speech is limited and it's mainly fans or linguist building upon the bits that are there) then this means 'The Pale Orc will kill me. The Dwarf scum, I must find them!'.**

**But I've found there's too many sources and they don't really seem to be in agreement so it's quite confusing. **

**Please leave a note!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: You know, I don't actually know where I'm going with this. I had intentions to make it a slow burn Thorin/OC thing but the kind of slow burn that comes from trying to start a forest fire on a rainy day with a magnifying glass. But exploring Thorin's psyche is just so interesting it might be an even slower burn than I expected it to be. And then there's writing Bilbo when he has the Ring and handling how it changes the way he interacts with people, I'm really looking forward to that.**

**Disclaimer: If you recognise it, I don't own it.**

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_Chapter 6_

That day Erebor was taken was seared into Thorin's mind with dragon fire, a branded mark across his soul. When he dreamt, sometimes he still felt the heat against his skin, inhaled the smell of singed hair and flesh mixing with smoke, heard the screams and he woke with his heart beating fast and his hand curled around his sword. Balin thought him one he could follow, one he could call King and yet Thorin only thought of himself as a coward. Because when he woke from these nightmares it was with the bitter wish that he had fallen along with Erebor, that he had been lost as well. Then perhaps he would stop hearing the siren song of its carved stone walls and his blood would stop singing for vengeance, for home and for gold.

When he had first called upon the dwarves of Erebor for this quest he had hoped no one would answer, that the life they had built in the Blue hills would be enough to keep them there. But they answered and while he was awestruck by their loyalty it tore at him. This was a fool's quest, his quest and no one else should have to pay the price for the call he heard. But he called and they answered. Perhaps they felt it too, home beckoning them to come back.

But some of them the youngest ones, they had never even set eyes upon the last great Kingdom of Dwarves. Fili and Kili, they had only heard tales and even though they were fine warriors they had never been in war and Ori had never even seen an Orc before in his life, being born in Ered Luin.

They were here, fighting, learning, and risking their very lives all for the quest for a home that had never truly been theirs. They had no memories of sneaking into the kitchens at Erebor to steal poppy seed cakes for Frerin when he was sick or being distinctly un-princely by spying on the Dwarrowdams with Dwalin in youth. They were here on this most dangerous quest for no reason except that he had called.

He had called, they had come and yet he had failed to protect them as he should have. The shame burned in him as he recalled that only a few hours ago Fili had been strung up on a spit to be roasted and eaten by trolls.

There was a time when he had led all the exiled Dwarves of Erebor across lands and yet this company of thirteen had to be saved by a little Hobbit.

Strange creatures, Hobbits. He had never heard of them before the journey from the ashes of Erebor to the Blue Hills had begun. There were no stories of their brave deeds, nor of the battles they dealt in. No merchants spoke of gold not precious stones from Shire, nor anything at all. Once, many years ago when the last caravan of Dwarves coming to the Blue Hills had stopped at Bree under his protection, he had heard of their mushrooms but nothing more. They were strange to his eyes, so peacefully quiet and so green was their land. Erebor was green as well but it was so because of the malachite floors and walls.

Perhaps he was going mad in his middle age, for all his thoughts, all his roads they lead him back to Erebor.

And now he stood here waiting on the wizard or wizards as it were. They were speaking quietly and since Gandalf had allowed him a little measure of privacy in talking to Dwalin and Balin about his plans (although Thorin was certain that the wandering wizard knew of them anyway) he allowed him to keep his secrets as well, for the time being. There was enough danger on their journey already he did not care to add the omitted truths of Gandalf the Grey to the mix. He had a love for meddling and yet when things turned to despair he wanted things to resolve themselves at their own pace. It was maddening beyond compare and for all his power as King, Thorin held no sway over Gandalf.

First he chose a hobbit with no experience in battle, nor stealing, no experience in any form of survival at all in all honesty, to be their Burglar then he brought the Ranger on board, the one that was so disrespectful and far too fond of trees and now this.

There was a glint in Gandalf's eye that Thorin was wary of but that little glow dimmed when a howl pierced through the air, one that Thorin knew well and every single dwarf in the company tensed, hands ready at their swords, axes and bow.

"Was that a wolf? A-a-are there wolves out there?!" The Burglar said, jittery.

"Wolves? No that is not a wolf." Bofur said and the rumbling growl of a Warg made itself very obvious. At the very top of the little incline where Gloin was stood a Warg appeared, its powerful shoulders framing its seemingly laughing muzzle but before it could get any further a dagger whizzed out from the canopy above them and embedded itself deep inside the Warg's head right between his eyes and it fell to the ground, dead, even as Thorin's sword was out ready to kill.

"Kili, get your bow!" Thorin shouted and just in the nick of time too as another Warg appeared from the other side, a planned ambush that had been foiled as the arrow brought the Warg to its knees and Thorin sank his new Gondolin sword into its heart and Dwalin's axe nearly beheaded it. The sword, Thorin was pleased to find, was sharp. So sharp that the force he had put into his swing was too much and it took both hands to pull the sword out of its carcass. "Warg scouts, which means an Orc pack is not far behind."

"Orc pack?!" The Hobbit asked incredulous and the Ranger dropped down directly between the two and pulled the dagger out of the Warg's head, wiping it off on its fur.

"Who did you tell of your quest beyond your kin?" Gandalf thundered and Thorin was momentarily taken aback by the fire in his voice.

"No one."

"Who did you tell?!" Gandalf insisted and this time Thorin got angry.

"No one, I swear!" It was Gandalf who had brought the strangers into their midst, Gandalf who insisted on showing the map to the Elves and yet Thorin's intentions and ability to keep secret were being questioned. Something odd was afoot. "What in Durin's name is going on?"

"You are being hunted." Gandalf said looking around carefully. "Kieran caught an Orc yesterday on your trial and waylaid him but any head start he may have bought us has been destroyed by our time spent at the troll hoard. They have found us."

"You found a scout and did not kill it?!" Fili asked but Thorin knew why he did not. A scout that did not return was one that was on the right path and had been found. If it did not return the pack would take it as confirmation and follow. Perhaps they might have been set upon by the Orcs while strung up on the roasting pit by the trolls then.

"We have to get out of here." Dwalin said but before they could agree Ori came stumbling down the incline to a panicking stop, Bifur close behind.

"We can't we have no ponies, they bolted." An edge was there to everyone that had not been there before. Not even when the Trolls were talking of eating them whole had they felt so threatened and wary.

"I'll draw them off." The mad wizard declared.

"These are Gundabad Wargs, they will outrun you!" Gandalf said and a shiver ran through Thorin. For him Gundabad meant nothing more than the giant Pale Orc that had beheaded his grandfather and driven his father to madness.

"These are Rhosgobel rabbits!" Said the Brown wizard, adamant, a manic glint to his yellow-toothed smile. "I'd like to see them try."

* * *

There were many times when Keera had come close to death, so many in fact, that she had stopped keeping count. This though was the only time when she was all but certain of it. Gandalf was leading them to the Hidden Pass, but their progress was slowed down by the Dwarves' slow pace and the way they were constantly veering to avoid the path of Radagast who seemed to be having the time of his life, ducking under stone, madly careening his little sled this way and that, those rabbits of his running like she had never seen, their speed heightened by the chase the predator was giving.

She watched him with something akin to envy. She kept an eye on the path he was taking, hoping to find some semblance of a pattern while making sure Bilbo didn't fall behind. He could run much faster than the pace they were at of this she was certain, she had seen Bilbo run away from Farmer Maggot Sr's dog and that hobbit could practically fly when he needed to but he was unused to watching his step for pebbles or watching ahead of him for a Dwarf or watching the landscape for a Warg.

Slowly but steadily they were making their way, finding their path but by now Thorin had realised where Gandalf intended them to go although he did not know the exact road.

"Where are you leading us?" He asked, growling when his only response was a careful glance stubborn to the very last. His wariness of elves would be the death of them.

Radagast came tumbling down in front of them and they pulled back, backs clinging to the rocky formation they were hiding behind. A rumbling sound alerted them to the Warg and Orc rider that was far too near for comfort but before she could take aim with her dagger, Kili had followed his uncle's silent instructions and fired off two arrows, one to the Warg's shoulder and another to knock the hunting horn out of the Orc's hand before he could sound it and alert the rest of the pack but it was of no use. When the Warg tumbled down in front of them the dwarves descended upon it with war cries and bludgeoned the groaning shouting Orc to a death forgetting the pack that they had spent all this time avoiding. The sound of the hunt had died down now and Keera prepared her daggers, ready for the fight that was inevitable to come now that they had found themselves the attention of the pack.

The moment of silence was broken as the sound of Warg howls filled the air again and they ran again even as the horde of Orcs descended upon them.

Without Radagast to draw them off it wasn't long before they were surrounded but at least Keera knew that the Hidden Pass was somewhere nearby though the exact location she did not quite know. When Gandalf disappeared she knew it was to find it and she calmed her steady beating heart even as the Wargs began growing closer. Kili shot off an arrow, perfectly hitting an Orc's neck where the armour left him exposed and she fired off another dagger nailing another in his heart.

Absently she heard Thorin shout some war cry as the Dwarves drew in closer in a defensive formation, all but locked in and then Gandalf's voice rang out over the sound of howls.

"This way, you fools!" He said and seemingly disappeared behind a rock and she knew he had led them well, right into the Hidden Pass and giving Thorin no way out of it. One by one the dwarves slid down the rock while she and Thorin kept a vigil, both taking posts on rocks either side of the pass. The riderless Warg whose Orc Kili had killed, growled and descended upon Thorin who slashed its neck easily and for a moment she admired the Gondolin sword he had. Pity about the glowing bit.

As more of their ranks were being culled the Orc pack descended faster, unable to hold back anymore and quickly Kili jumped down followed by Thorin and finally her.

Horns sounded just as she went down the rock, horns she was well familiar with. Elrond and his elves were out hunting then. It only made sense, the Orcs had ventured far too close in their pursuit of the Dwarves something they would never have done were it not for the price that Azog must have put on Thorin's head.

An Orc fell down the hole they were hiding in, dead and Thorin examined the arrow only to throw it away in disgust.

"Elves!" He said and Keera rolled her eyes although he could not see it. She did not care to go through this charade anymore, his disdain for elves that he had never even met before left a sour taste in her mouth especially as she knew Elrond and without another word she pushed to the front of the group following the pass leaving Bilbo's fortune with Gandalf if only for a brief while. By the time the dwarves had made it to the mouth of the cave and begun their usual argument of 'Elves are treacherous bastards and our enemies' she was a good way down the path and moving quicker with every step. It wasn't long before she was at the gates, passing through the statues of the twin guardian elves. They always reminded her of Elladan and Elrohir who were probably in Lorien with their sister though and she carried on in her march using the little head start she had to find Lindir but stopped when Gandalf called out to her.

The company soon caught up to her and the second they did she began walking quickly again. Gandalf and she went ahead while the rest looked around, wary.

"Mithrandir!"

"Ah, Lindir."

"_We heard you had crossed into the valley." _He said in Sindarin, only exacerbating Thorin's vigilance and turned to her. "_Erre_-"

She held up a finger and proceeded to climb up the stairs uncaring of how this familiarity with Imladris wouldn't endear her to the company at all.

"_She hasn't changed a bit."_ Lindir said and she was tempted to bring to his attention that she could hear him but did not.

"_If you're expecting her to do so then you'll be waiting for a long time."_ Gandalf smiled but the smile dropped soon enough. "I must speak with Lord Elrond."

"My Lord Elrond is not here."

A horn sounding cut them off and even she stopped in her ascent, waiting there half way up the stairs instead.

The exchange went as she expected it to, offenses taken where there were none, barbed retorts flicked this way and that, entirely hostile until the mention of food and shelter all while she rolled her eyes. It seemed to be all she did these days and finally they were done, Lord Elrond climbing up the stairs stopping when he came across her.

"_And I believe that this is yours my dear."_ He held out her dagger, the one that she had thrown at one of the Orcs before and with a flick of her hand it was hidden up her sleeve just where it usually was and she held a hand over her heart in silent thanks which seemed to amuse Elrond. They climbed higher and higher, behind her the dwarves complained about the number of stairs in the place and she smiled. She had heard similar complaints from another before. The same person, she realised, who was hiding in the bushes to the side trying to plan an ambush on her. When he leapt out she stepped to the side and in a simple move had his head under her arm in a lock.

"_You'll have to try harder to take me by surprise my dear boy,"_ She said softly into Estel's ear as her arm held his head by her waist.

"Let me go Aunt Erredil!" He shouted and she closed her eyes. She had spoken to him in Sindarin hoping he would answer in it but he had remembered her last lecture to him about practising the common tongue and answered in it. If she had known that her efforts to further his education would bear such fruit for her she wouldn't have done so and left his schooling to Elrond.

"I'm sorry, did he just call you aunt?" Bilbo said, incredulous, and she sighed turning around to face them still holding Estel tight under her arm where he wriggled like a worm on a hook. Gandalf cleared his throat and so she let the young boy go and he sprang way the second she did so, putting some healthy distance between the two.

"We'll climb trees in the evening, I'll race you Auntie." He yelled, still in halting Westron and she resisted the urge to slap her forehead and took a small pouch of gold from her pocket and threw it to Gandalf.

"You win." She said loud enough for everyone to hear and gasp at the sound of a woman's voice coming from her.

"That tends to happen." Gandalf said laughingly.

"You'd think I'd have learnt by now not to bet against Mithrandir but noooo here I am making bets."

"I'm sorry but you're a woman?" Bilbo said still shocked.

"Yes, Cousin" She dropped the hood and unwound the scarf. "I have lady bits not dangly ones."

"Myrtle!" Bilbo jaw dropped and hung somewhere near his stomach.

"No don't call me that! If you do then you have to brush my hair and sneak me apples. I can't believe you named your pony Myrtle!" She whined, glad to finally be able to voice the thought and Bilbo flushed red.

"Then what do we call you milady, Kieran is obviously not your name." Balin asked.

"It's a name I go by which makes it my name. But Keera works."

"The child called you Erredil." Thorin said.

"Yes but I doubt you'd want to have any Elvish words come out of your mouth." She said accusingly rolling her eyes.

"All this time we've been travelling with a lady." Kili said as if stunned and shook his head before looking her over properly and grinning lasciviously. "A rather pretty lady."

Fili had a different thought. "What was the wager about?"

"Oh Gandalf said that you would find out of my feminine nature by accident. I bet that I would get angry or annoyed enough to break my 'vow of silence' and tell you of how much I want to stick a boot up your behinds so that I wouldn't actually do that." She rolled her eyes. "Now if you'll excuse me, I am off to take a bath. I suggest you do so as well gentlemen, you all stink. That's probably the real reason those ponies bolted because of your stench, the Valar know it's more terrifying than the Wargs."

"I don't suppose you could take up that vow of silence again?" Thorin asked, clearly aggravated but intent on being a bit more polite to her now that he knew she was female.

"With the way I feel now, not even the Maiar could get me to shut up. You are going to be hearing a lot more from me Thorin Oakenshield."

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	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:I do not own the Hobbit (except on Blu-Ray).**

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_Chapter 7_

The company sat at the table of Lord Elrond quietly. Only some time ago they had been absolutely raring at the thought of food only to be disappointed and shocked and consequently unable to eat. Disappointed because of the food (ridiculously green) and shocked because not a few seconds after they had sat down at the table had it been announced that Erredil would be joining them soon and that had reminded them that the Ranger was a _girl_. A hobbit girl at that, one who was Bilbo's cousin. Kili looked over at Bilbo who was picking at the leaves in his bowl, lost in his thought and that was as good an indicator of how surprising this all was. The dwarves had learnt pretty soon that Bilbo while the smallest was also the biggest eater. Bombur himself had been shocked at what young Baggins had managed to put away and that this very same hobbit wasn't eating was strange to say the least.

The elf who had met them at the gates (Lindor? Kili was pretty sure it was Lindor) turned at the sound of her arrival and offered his hand out for her to take and she took it allowing him to lead her up the stairs. Kili didn't think she even realised how it came off, she simply accepted the gesture as her due, paying no particular attention to the elf beyond a gracious hand held to her chest in silent thanks.

She really was pretty. Not in the Dwarvish way because she didn't have the facial hair for it, nor in the Elvish way, she did not have the same delicate bones, not in the hobbit way because she didn't radiate healthy happiness and not in the way of men as well, far too graceful for it. But something about her was magnetic. There was laughter hidden in the curve of her chapped lips, the big doll-like brown eyes overflowing with mirth and laughter. She didn't seem to carry the same weariness that they all did and her smile was ridiculously contagious.

She had clearly meant it when she said she wanted to take a bath, the rest of them had washed up their faces and hands but her hair was damp leaving her pale blue gown stained darker along her back and in some places along the shoulder where it touched. Before she could sit down anywhere else Fili and he made a space between them and waved her over. She grinned, shaking her head but sat there anyway, ignoring Bilbo's squawks of protest at how improper it was.

"Mr Baggins, all that talk about your fair cousin and not one mention of how she's the prettiest thing ever?" Fili said and Kili nodded along. To his eternal surprise she leaned forward flirtatiously.

"Oh?" she fairly purred. As if it wasn't hard enough to think of her as the Ranger, she was only making it harder. Although there was something about the way she moved now that was reminiscent of her hunting the Warg. That same predatory set of shoulders and Kili tensed, his eyes going to her hands.

The hands looked delicate even with the tattoos littering them. A pair of wings at the wrist, an owl on one finger and some words in a script he did not understand (probably Elvish) on the inside of another. The gloves had covered them before and none of them had seen those before but they really were rather pretty. Especially with the way she held them, the pinkie finger standing up slightly even as the others curled around the knife she had been using to butter a piece of bread. He remembered another set of knives she'd used and gulped especially upon recalling how much he'd tried to tug out the dagger she'd thrown at the Warg in the forest only for it to be buried firmly into its head. And then she'd come along and slid it out in one smooth motion. No, not half as delicate as it seemed.

"Well perhaps _you_ can tell me how I'm the prettiest thing ever then." She continued and Fili and Kili spluttered.

Kili recovered himself first and smiled at her. "You look beautiful milady." He said in his most charming voice but instead of the blush he was expecting she simply smiled magnanimously, the chin rising up a bit more.

"I know." She said simply and there amidst the rather calm elves she seemed even more animated, every gesture loud, every little motion of her tattooed fingers that much more obvious. "You all really missed out by not being able to look at my face for our journey." She clucked her tongue.

Fili opened his mouth to say something but instead of words a strange noise came out like the creak of a rusty door and all the Dwarves present floundered, unsure of how to respond to that. They weren't used to young maidens being so sure of their selves and so proud of it as well. Even the most beautiful Dwarrowdams were disposed to being a bit more coy about their looks than this young hobbit was. The elves around them seemed to be used to this as a few shook their heads knowingly while another elf said something in their soft language that made her laugh knelt, next to her and bowed above her hand kissing it before walking off to play an instrument.

She didn't blush even then, simply narrowed her eyes teasingly and let him go.

"So," She started clapping her hands enthusiastically, "Should we reintroduce ourselves?"

"Y' already know us lass," Dwalin said in his gruff voice, clearly angry. "We're the ones who've been duped."

"Well then I'll introduce myself shall I?" She said, apparently unaffected by Dwalin but the vein in her forehead throbbed. "I was born Myrtle Took but I now go by Keera, or Kieran depending on the situation."

"The elves have another name for you." Balin inquired.

"They have another name for Gandalf too but I don't see anyone questioning him." She said flippantly. "But yes they call me Erredil. It means one who has no path which has never really made any sense to me, I have plenty of paths just no real destination. Oh well, it's nice to meet you all and Bilbo, I am so proud of all the progress you've made, really. You've done an excellent job of adjusting to travel." She raised her goblet to the Hobbit and drained it of its contents in one swig. "Now that that's done I can eat."

The voracious appetite was not limited to Bilbo, it was a characteristic of all hobbits. This became even more obvious now when her gaze became fixated on the food as she began eating, delicately but steadily. The mountain of green that had been steady on their table for the past few minutes diminished greatly within just a few minutes and they looked on in bewilderment.

Eventually though, they began to think of eating the strange masses of green in front of them. Dori tried to convince Ori to have some of it, mothering the youngest dwarf in their midst as he was want to do and Dwalin sifted through his bowl disgruntled, looking for the meat.

Soon their host Lord Elrond entered the gazebo followed by Gandalf and their uncle. The three sat at a table a bit away from them and began to talk. While Balin and Bilbo on the side closer to them could hear what the three were saying the others could not and for a moment Kili wished he could exchange places with Oin who really had the perfect position to be eavesdropping but had stuffed his ear trumpet with a cloth to block out the sounds of the flute.

Kili looked around eye catching that of the elf maid strumming the harp and he winked only to earn no response, not from her at least but he did get a glare from Dwalin. He cleared his throat and looked away tightening his face up as best he could.

"I can't say I fancy Elf maids myself, too thin. They're all high cheekbones and creamy skin." He turned to Bofur who had the most disbelieving face ever and tried to be more firm and convinced in his words. "Not enough facial hair for me. Although that one there is not bad."

Dwalin leaned forward. "That's not an elf maid."

And indeed it wasn't, when the 'elf maid' turned around it was obvious (but not actually _that_ obvious) that it was an elf man. Laughter and snorts abounded across the table and Kili looked away feeling just a bit humiliated.

"The Elf maids are not maidens anyway, most of them are matrons. The one playing the harp, Laesneniel, she has a young child actually, barely two hundred years of age." Keera said informatively before picking one of the pretty little cakes from the top of the tray and plopping it into her mouth while Kili spluttered.

"That's almost as old as Uncle Thorin!"

"That's a child in Elven terms."

"Erredil," Elrond said, raising his voice to be heard by the girl and his uncle caught his eyes and frowned. Kili looked around wondering what exactly he had done wrong that had Thorin narrowing his eyes at them like that hoping that he hadn't caught that little gaffe with the elf maiden (matron) but then realised that it was Keera he was frowning at and sagged in relief. "I wonder what you're doing in this company. It is unlike you to be travelling with others."

"Our paths intersected and finding my cousin in their midst was part of my motive for joining them as well. Besides when have I ever really needed a reason to do things?" She said teasingly.

Lord Elrond bowed his head although his eyes belayed a bit of suspicion but accepted the answer as it was, turning back to Thorin and Gandalf. They seemed to discuss the swords that Gandalf and Thorin were carrying, Lord Elrond taking them out of their scabbards one by one and saying something. If Dis was here she'd be smacking them all over their heads for taking their weapons out on the dining table. Kili watched as Thorin stiffened suddenly and walked off, standing a bit away from the company as well as Gandalf and Elrond.

"Estel, put the pebble down." Keera said suddenly, her voice pitched to be heard above everything else and the dwarves turned to her, confused since she hadn't take her eyes off the bowl in front of her. "I mean it."

To their surprise the boy from earlier tumbled out from a tree nearby and stood there awkwardly looking in between her and them. He did not approach them though merely watched while Lord Elrond in his seat turned his eyes to him, disapprovingly as did the Thorin and Gandalf.

Kili was gobsmacked to say the least. Their Ranger friend had turned out to be a hobbit lass and a pretty one to boot. Then she had a human child call her aunt and the elves welcome her as if one of their own. She made no sense but more importantly _his uncle had known none of this_. He was going to be so angry at Gandalf, he was certain that the wizard would not be allowed to rejoin them in their quest and then where would they be, stuck with a dragon that no one could kill that's where.

(But really, no matter what he, said Kili was absolutely certain Gandalf must have killed some dragons.)

"They won't eat you Estel." Keera chided.

"Come on lad, don't be shy." Balin said with a smile as the boy looked at them with burning curiosity.

He hesitated but climbed up the stairs anyway and sat behind Keera, or Erredil as he called her. He slung his arms around her neck and rested his chin on her shoulder affectionately, looking at them all with interest.

"Hiding behind a lass?" Bofur teased him and Estel smirked.

"She's scarier than all of you." He said and in reward she raised a cake from the tray in the middle and plopped it into his mouth without a word, the smile on her face said it all.

"Is she now?" Balin played along.

"Yes. Even Lindir is terrified of her."

"I'm not scared of her." The elf from before protested.

"Yes you are."

"No I assure you I am not."

"Yes you are."

"No I am not."

"Yes."

"No." Everyone was rather amused to see the dignified Elf get into a petty argument with a child.

"Boys, you're both correct." Keera said and the two looked affronted at being called boys. "Estel, Lindir is scared of me but he hasn't admitted it to himself yet. We cannot force a person to make their realisations, understand?"

"I'm not scared of you." Lindir said.

"Yes yes, let us all pretend we believe that." She rolled her eyes and the elf spluttered some more.

"Everybody's scared of Aunt Erredil."

"We aren't." Kili proclaimed.

That was a bit of a lie though, he wouldn't liek to be on the other end of one of those pointy knives she always had.

"You'll learn." Estel said knowingly and earned himself another cake. "You're all dwarves?"

"Of course laddie."

"So you can tell me where dwarves come from?"

Since no one was eating yet, not too fond of the elvish food, no one choked but on the table where Gandalf and Elrond were sitting, windpipes had to be cleared.

"What do you mean lad?" Dwalin growled.

"Well the books I have say that dwarves grow from rocks. Which kind of rocks? Can I grow a dwarf?"

"Dwarfs do not come from rocks young man-" Balin started.

"Estel, my name's Estel."

"Dwarves come from dwarves, the women bear them just like the other races."

"The books don't say anything about women dwarves." Estel said with a frown.

"These'll be elf books, eh?" Dwalin glared at the surroundings.

"No, they're ones by men. Aunt brought them for me last time she came by."

"So you aren't her...son?" Kili asked and got whacked across the head by Fili.

"If he was her son, don't you think he'd call her mother?"

"Thank you Fili. And no Kili I am not his mother, I am just the fun aunt."

"Yes the one who travels across Middle Earth but forgets to bring me presents." Estel lamented.

"I remembered this time." Keera protested.

"Really?!"

"Mm hmm, got you sultanas from the Blue Hills."

"You've been to the Blue Hills?" Balin asked.

"Yes, I was coming back from there when Gandalf accosted me."

"He has a tendency of showing up even when unexpected." Thorin said and Bilbo snorted loudly.

"You've got that bit right."

Bofur had finally had it with the elvish music and with an exasperated sigh he got up on the table and began to sing a song. It was an odd song but one they knew well as the flagging spirits rose and they all began to sing along. Before long food was being flung all across the tables, soaring past Elrond's head and Lindir in his corner flinched every few seconds, the music stopped as the elves stared at them in utter disbelief but Kili laughed because the look on all their faces was simply epic.

Next to him Estel clapped enthusiastically as Bofur's performance came to an end.

"I want to be a dwarf when I grow up!" He proclaimed and Elrond shot Gandalf a withering glare.

Kili used the opportunity to lean in closer to Keera whispering in her ears so no one else would hear. "What about the one playing the flute? Is she an elf matron as well?"

"Free as a bird. Wink at her all you like." Kili sat back pleased but she turned back to him, "But I should warn you, she prefers blonds."

He sighed. "Story of my life."

* * *

Keera skipped along a path humming as she did so revelling in the sound of her voice. She wasn't really that talkative, indeed she had no reason to be so since she usually travelled alone but when around people she always had something to say. There was always someone to poke fun at, someone to tell a joke to and someone to offend.

Just as she thought of this she saw the back of Thorin Oakenshield, sitting on a bench looking out at the valley. She could almost picture his glower and grumbling at the thought of being provided sanctuary in a city of elves. He'd probably be muttering about the 'tree-shaggers' and thinking about how Gandalf was conspiring against him with Elrond.

The dwarf needed to lighten up (which he could, she'd noticed how his foot had been tapping along to the rhythm during Bofur's song) but until then getting a rise from him would be fun she decided.

She eyed the alcove and picked up a little stone from the path. Keera climbed up the side and sat on the roof right above where Thorin would be and threw the stone into the bushes to the other side.

This would be fun.

Thorin sat at the edge of the balcony looking out at the glowing city at his feet. It was pretty he'd give them that but it didn't have the same sense of wholeness to it that the Dwarf cities had. Too open, full of gaping holes. Even the alcove where he was sitting was little more than an open space with a bit of a wooden covering.

A rustling sound in the bushes off to his left caught his ear and with a frown he went over to check it. Elves, probably spying on them, he thought with disgust but found nothing and with a grunt turned back only to find himself nearly nose to nose with the other hobbit.

"Hello." She said having seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

Thorin wished that the hobbit girl would stop doing that. It was bad enough when she'd been in her ranger glory, all hooded cloak and no face but her dropping in out of nowhere was somehow even more awkward and startling when she did it in the gown she had taken to wearing. How she managed to make no sound in yards of heavy draping fabric was something Thorin would wonder for a very long time.

"Good evening milady." He said as politely as he could manage, calling upon all his years of lessons on proper etiquette not to just stand up and point at her yelling 'Elf-lover!'.

She tilted her head, puzzled. "Why do you call me a lady? For all you know I could be a harlot."

Thorin choked on air. He suddenly missed the Ranger and his vow of silence.

"Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"A harlot."

"Well that depends upon what you consider a harlot to be."

"Milady-"

"So if I was a harlot by your definition, would I be addressed as Miharlot?" Not only were they in the company of a woman, they were in the company of a mad woman. This did not bode well for their quest.

"Do you exchange pleasures of the flesh for money?"

"No."

"Then you are a lady." He said firmly and ended the discussion right there.

Not that there had ever been a question of that. If it wasn't for the deference that everyone in Rivendell showed her nor the way her chin always seemed to be raised it simply made no sense for a harlot to travel to Rivendell. Everyone knew Elves were faithful and physical intimacy was sacred to them, a whore could hardly peddle her wares here.

But why was he even considering such a situation? The lass's mind was full of holes just like Rivendell, he decided, nibbled into them by tiny mice. He hoped those mice weren't contagious.

"So I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you are thinking about whether or not to show Elrond the map."

"If he reads the map, he will know of our destination. If he knows our destination he will try to stop us."

"But if he doesn't read the map it won't matter because you'll get to Erebor and just sit there for ages wondering where the door is because the clue is hidden in the map. The map you can't read."

"Yes I'm aware of that." It was hard not to be when he spent every night looking at the vellum, going over it again and again, wondering if there was something in there that he had missed.

She nodded in agreement. "But you know, he has no right to stop you. And even if he did there is always Gandalf."

"And what could Gandalf do against an army of elves?"

"Nothing, but he doesn't need to. He can filibuster and talk and distract them. There are ways out of the valley that aren't guarded."

"The secrets of the map are mine to protect."

"Yes but you don't know what those secrets are." She pointed out and rolled her eyes, pursing her lisp in thought. "You would think that they'd have taught you how to read your own map. Far too many secrets in this world. Why do people need to complicate everything?" She scoffed.

"And what would you have me do?" He said bitterly before adding in a 'milady' as an afterthought.

"I thought this quest was a bad idea to begin with. Why did you suddenly decide to take back Erebor? The portents that Oin talked about aren't set in stone, there are other indicators that you could have waited for, more ominous but certain signs. A bird making its way back to The Lonely Mountain doesn't mean much."

"Gandalf offered-" Before he could complete his sentence she stood up, all traces of humour gone from her face.

"This was _Gandalf's_ idea?" Her voice came out clipped and authoritative now, none of that easy going drawl that had been there before and she had gone pale. Thorin frowned and pondered the change and urgency in her form, every muscle tense and ready to fight.

"He said that the Lonely Mountain troubled him, that darker minds would turn to Erebor."

She had gone completely still now, like a statue staring at him with big brown eyes, troubled and angry. When she did finally move it was a angry movement, complete with hisses and gritted teeth. She turned but even as she left the curses she was spewing followed loudly, an amalgam of Sindarin, Westron, Khuzdul and others that he did not even recognise but sounded like they came from the Sutherland.

"Where are you off to?" He inquired wondering exactly why she was so worked up.

"I have to see a wizard about a quest and then get drunk like I'm at the wedding of my former fiancé."

Thorin stared at her retreating back, bewildered. Hobbits, he decided, were strange.

* * *

**Leave a note.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hobbit.**

* * *

_Chapter 8_

It was just as she spotted Gandalf that Elrond caught her eye and waved her over. Keera was caught in indecision, unsure of which way she should go. Should she confront Gandalf or answer Lord Elrond's summons? She dithered but in the end the decision was made for her as Gandalf was pulled away by Bilbo and she knew that she wouldn't be able to discuss anything with Gandalf without dwarves or hobbit overhearing and with a heavy sigh she went over to Lord Elrond.

"Am I such bad company Erredil?" Elrond asked playfully and she smiled.

The dwarves were so caught up in their insular ways that they missed out on the greatest marvel of Imladris, Elrond's cunning humour. What they mistook for insults and offenses, hidden messages spoken in another tongue was Elrond simply making a joke, not unlike the stunt Kili and Fili had pulled earlier on in the journey with Bilbo. Then again, she remembered, Thorin hadn't reacted too well to that either. That dwarf needed to learn to see the silver lining to the cloud, she decided.

"I was hoping to catch Mithrandir but he seems to be running away from me."

"He seems to be avoiding me as well, perhaps because I ask too many questions." She shot him a sceptical look and he gave up on trying to get an answer from her. "And you are after all, as Estel puts it, 'scary'."

Keera tossed her hair back haughtily, the loose braid whipping around her and curling around the other shoulder."It does my ego good to see the great Lord Elrond concede to that point. Some people insist on finding that out the hard way."

He faked a look of surprise. "This was easy?"

"Compared to the hell I've been giving Thorin, yes."

His mouth twitched into a momentary smile before he resumed his political niceties and refrained from laughing at Thorin, son of Thrain. "Walk with me child." Elrond said and together they walked onto paths in the gardens. "You do not wear your circlet?" He inquired.

"I was but then I decided to sneak up on Thorin Oakenshield and I didn't want to be so silly as to allow it to fall off and alert him."

"Still playing games?" He chuckled.

"Always. Between fighting Orcs and getting lost, I need to find my laughs somewhere after all."

"What do you make of this strange company? And the trolls so close to the Great East road, what brings them to it?"

She knew by 'them' he was talking about the dwarves but chose to interpret it in another way, her smile disappearing and a gravity taking over her. "There are things shifting in the darkness, their boldness grows and soon not even sunlight will be enough to keep them at bay. The trolls were worrying but it is not the first I have heard of such an instance. Waiting and watching is too passive, Gandalf is right, we may not be able to take action but that doesn't mean we can't take precaution."

"You have not answered my question Erredil." He reproached but she remained adamant.

"The Great East road is one of the safest roads in that belt and yet there have been trolls attacking, does this not worry you? Only two months ago I came across a human settlement on the banks of Hoarwell being harangued by Orcs on Wargs, not far from your borders. It was taken care of but by then enough damage had been done to the village that they thought of moving to Rohan. I sent a missive to the other Rangers, the town is still standing anymore but their path is being guarded. In the last six months, I have seen more Wargs than I did in the time I spent in Gundebad, it is _alarming_. My lord, I...I do not know what is happening, what is _going_ to happen but these signs do not point to anything pleasant."

"You plan to continue with the company then?"

"Yes. We intend to travel on the same road. Besides which this is the farthest Bilbo has been from the Shire, I don't want one little incident with trolls-"

"And an Orc pack."

"Well yes but I don't want this to scare him off. There is more to see."

"I fail to understand what the young Halfling is doing in this company."

"Many things."

"I'm not going to get a straight answer from you am I?"

"Does anyone ever get a straight answer from me?"

A snap of a twig sounded and she had a knife out of her sleeve held out. They watched with caution as the bushes around them moved when finally Bilbo tumbled into their path and with a roll of her eyes she tucked the dagger back inside her sleeve.

"Myrtle! And Lord Elrond." Bilbo narrowed his eyes at the latter. "I was looking for you." He said to her.

"Why?"

"Oh no reason really, just think it's best to retire to bed, it's quite late you know." He laughed nervusly.

Elrond and Keera shared a puzzled look but she shrugged and went with Bilbo anyway, if only to find out what this was about.

"What's all that about?" She asked Bilbo.

"I just don't think it's appropriate for an unmarried woman to be out at such a late hour especially with another man without a chaperone."

"Bilbo! He's married and elves are faithful to their partners!" The tension he held in his shoulders lessened a bit. "Besides, he's old as the dirt."

* * *

Elrond stared in the direction Erredil and Bilbo had gone off with a miffed look. They had apparently forgotten that he was an elf with excellent ears and could hear them.

"I'm not _that_ old."

* * *

The next day dawned bright and beautiful but Keera was hunting a certain wizard who had decided to hide frpm her instead. Eventually though, she did find Fili and Kili off in a corner, talking quietly which given their propensity for mischief was never good. Then she saw Estel there as well and could well imagine that the two were either telling him all sorts of false things about Dwarves or they were sharing prank ideas which were both not good. She crept on them and Estel saw her but stayed mum when she raised a finger to her lips to quiet him. His mouth twitched into a smile for a second but they apparently didn't notice as their voices grew quieter and their hands moved faster. Quietly she cleared her throat and prepared to do something she'd wanted to do for ages.

"What in Durin's name is going on here?!" The deeper voice with its growl was a well enough simulacrum of their uncle's voice that the two leapt into the air, making apologies before they'd even turned around. Their jaws dropped when they saw it was her and Estel and Keera leaned in one another laughing at the 'Li brothers

"What are you two doing now?" She asked once the laughter had subsided and the tears had been wiped from eyes. Kili and Fili had been looking up at a particular building in Rivendell, pointing to one balcony and whispering among themselves.

"Nothing, nothing, no we weren't planning anything at all really." Kili said far quickly and Fili rolled his eyes.

Keera narrowed her eyes at them. "Aren't you two nobles? Princes, even."

"What does that have to do with that?"

"Politics." Estel answered looking at them like they were dimwits. "It's all about lying. _You_ can't lie to save your life."

"Is it really that hard to come up with a decent lie?" Keera pondered. She'd been making excuses and lying since she was a child.

"We were simply admiring the elvish architecture and wondering how the buildings are still standing being more used to seeing stonework." Fili answered smoothly.

"You're the older one aren't you?" Estel said flatly.

"He's the heir, I'm the spare." Kili said cheerfully and Estel slapped a hand onto his forehead while Keera smothered a grin.

"So what are you two doing here?"

"Uncle's using those quarters."

"We wanted to get in there but can't find any grip on the smooth wood."

"Too high to reach."

"I can help you with that," Keera said nodding at Estel who stood by the wall and gave her a boost. She flew up and managed to find a good grip on the parapet below the room and swung herself up into the room.

There was nothing there really. Thorin did not trust the elves and so the company was camping in one of the terraces but he had accepted the room offered to him as a formality. As it stood it was rather bare, the only thing there was the set of clothes that had been sent back after being laundered. She turned around, leaning over the edge of the balcony to pull up Fili and just as he managed to get a good grip on the parapet she let him go so that he could pull himself up. Halfway up and almost over the parapet, Fili looked behind her and paled. She turned around only to see Thorin watching her with an incredulous look. She knew without looking that the slight grunt from behind her had come from Fili who had let go and gotten out of there as fast as he could.

"May I ask what you're doing in my rooms, Miss Took?"

"You may ask." She said magnanimously.

He gave a long suffering sigh. "What are you doing in my room Miss Took?"

"Nothing much. Just taking a look around." She shrugged.

"How would you like it, Miss Took, if I were to sneak into your private quarters?"

"That depends," She said and leaned forward, biting her lip coyly. He refused to lean back or show any reaction to it no matter how much he wanted to. "What are you wearing in this scenario where you sneak into my...private quarters?" She drawled out, her voice a huskier tone than before.

"Armour. Full battle armour." He answered very quickly.

"Well then I'd like that very much indeed. See you tonight." She said and turned to leave but his hand caught hers and he pulled her back.

"Tonight? You are aware that I was joking? I shan't be sneaking into your quarters."

"You are aware that I was talking about dinner, right?" She whispered and Thorin flushed bright red. Her smirk grew into a wicked smile and she turned to leave. He could almost hear her snickering in his head. She made it all the way to the door on his watch but then paused there, turning back to face him."Oh and I would show Lord Elrond the map if I were you. There's no point getting to Erebor and just sitting around wondering what the instructions were, completely unable to find a way in. I'm not sure that you should be risking your heirs' lives on a quest you do not know to fulfil."

His jaw ticked in anger but he concealed it and smiled a fake smile. "I shall take your advice under consideration milady."

* * *

The map was to be read by Elrond, Thorin had finally given in and allowed Gandalf to talk to Elrond about it but Balin had turned his mind again by the time they had gathered in Elrond's study.

Eventually though Thorin had given in to the desperation and given Elrond the map much to Balin's consternation.

Bilbo and Keera stood on the side watching it all with no small degree of amusement.

"I swear it's like watching Chrysanthemum and Azalea fight over who gets the blue china tea set all over again." Keera observed to Bilbo.

"With your mother acting as arbitrator." Bilbo mused back.

"Cirth ithil." Elrond said as he turned the map at an angle.

"Moon runes." Gandalf and Keera said simultaneously and Gandalf smiled at Bilbo and explained. "An easy thing to miss."

"Well, in this case, that is true. Moon runes can only be read by the light of a moon of the same shape and season as the day on which they were written."

"How can you tell? If these runes only appear at a certain time then how can you tell which time they appear at?" She asked and Elrond smiled at her.

"There are etches at the bottom of the map." He pulled it down so that she could see and pointed at the line demarcating the bottom of the map. "The line itself acts as a timeline of sorts, the etch on top indicates the phase of the moon. Another etch at the bottom tells of the season and time in which these runes appear. By the length of the etch you can tell how specific the time is."

"So when were the Cirth Ithil on this map written?"

"These runes were written on a Midsummer's Eve by the light of a crescent moon nearly 200 years ago." Elrond led them through passages that even Keera did not know of that opened onto a platform in the rocks right beneath the waterfalls. A crystal plinth stood on the edge of the outcrop and Elrond laid the map down there. "It would seem you were meant to come to Rivendell. Fate is with you, Thorin Oakenshield. The same moon shines upon us tonight. _'Stand by the gray stone when the thrush knocks and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole.'_"

"Durin's Day?" Bilbo asked.

"It is the start of the Dwarves' new year, when the last moon of autumn... ...and the first sun of winter appear in the sky together." Gandalf explained.

"This is ill news." Thorin mused, brooding."Summer is passing, Durin's Day will soon be upon us."

"We still have time." Balin said but stopped when Keera made a slashing gesture at her neck from behind Elrond's back and he realised that they were supposed to keep their quest secret and snapped his mouth shut but the damage had been done.

"So that is your purpose, to enter the mountain." Elrond pronounced knowingly and Keera cleared her throat to stop any more information from falling off anyone's lips.

"The Dwarves of Erebor have been called to fulfil a vow made to someone in Lake Town, a descendant of the Men of Dale. Since they mean to pass so closely to Erebor their curiosity has been doubled, that is all." She said levelly. "There was mention of a trade they wanted to make, something about a relic of Erebor that had been found by a fisherman. As you know Lake Town does not usually fall in the way of merchants so they made their way there themselves."

That was quite a good lie actually. Balin looked at her impressed.

"Is that so?" Elrond said sceptically.

"Yes."

"And yet I have heard of no such vow made."

"It is not yours to hear of." Thorin growled his natural prickliness around elves coming in handy to help her with the cover story.

"And in your defence you aren't in the habit of eavesdropping like I am." She added. "There's really no reason for you to know of it."

"You are getting better at lying Erredil."

"I'm not lying at all Lord Elrond. But even so, I take offense at your insinuation that my skills at lying needed improvement."

"I would believe you, truly, were it not for...other concerned parties how have informed me otherwise."

"Who?"

"You are not the only guardian to watch over Middle Earth." Elrond told Gandalf and turned to leave turning once to fix her with a disapproving stare. "And you Erredil, to lie to the one who has offered you shelter and sanctuary."

Bilbo felt prickles of guilt at that but she did nothing but shrug, flippant to the end. "Had to try."

The edge of Elrond's lip twitched upwards for a second and Thorin realised he was actually amused by the girl's attempt, not angry. The elves might be better than he thought they were.

'Or,' A silky voice said in his head, 'She has been in league with them for so long that her sins are forgiven easily.'

"I can understand why the Dwarves make their way to Erebor but why you Erredil?" Elrond asked and Thorin's ears pricked forward as did the rests'. "It is not in your nature to travel in a group and do not bother lying to me and saying it is for your cousin's safety, not when you have avoided the Shire to prevent your enemies from following you there."

"I have been wondering that as well." Gandalf said chidingly.

"Do you not remember convincing me to join you Mithrandir?" She smiled winningly and everyone was almost convinced. Almost.

"I do. And I also recall that it was surprisingly easy to do so. I did not notice at the time because there were other things on my mind but now with a bit of rest I am thinking clearly." He loomed and Elrond frowned as well.

"What troubles you?"

She was tight-lipped for long enough that Thorin thought she would not answer but eventually she relented.

"I am chasing a rumour. I heard from a merchant who was travelling along the same road as mine that a figure had been seen heading to Mirkwood." Her voice changed, dropping to an eerie whisper that somehow resounded tinged with the hint of hate. "He wore a bright red coat with many black buttons and the smell of sugar floss hung around him."

Elrond and Gandalf paled. "That is not good news."

The dam broke and Keera spoke, pacing suddenly. "Especially if Gandalf's fears and what Radagast has seen is true are real as well. One sorcerer is enough trouble. But two joined together especially since there are other rumours flying about of Wargs spotted in places that are far from both Gundabad and Moria, I mean a _necromancer_!"

"Necromancer!" Elrond looked to Gandalf in askance and the wizard frowned at Keera who did not really notice it pacing with barely restrained mania. "I believe you and I need to talk Gandalf. And our concerned friends will be joining us soon."

* * *

**Leave a note!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I should really get a life instead of compulsively updating stories no one reads. **

**White chocolate spaghetti.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit or any affiliated characters.**

* * *

_Chapter 9_**  
**

Bilbo was in a state of turmoil. It had been quite a few hours since they'd left Rivendell in the cover of early dawn and even now as they set up camp, the same thought that had been plaguing him for the last miles without waking up his cousin. He sighed again and looked at the road they had been travelling on with a frown. She was a part of the company as well, it was obvious in the way Fili and Kili had asked after her and been just as confused as he had been when Thorin said they would be leaving without her. But unlike Bilbo they had accepted the verdict with a shrug.

"Do you think we did the right thing? Not waking Myrtle up?"

"Why are you talking about me like I'm not here?" Bilbo squeaked and jumped into the air. Behind him, Myrtle glared, hanging upside down from a tree. Dwalin growled something in Khuzdul and Thorin's frown deepened even as Kili, Fili and Bofur laughed at his reaction. "And you called me Myrtle again, where's my apple and hair scratch?" She teased.

"Why did you do that?!" He shrieked, still feeling his heart pounding away in his chest. He always knew that some Took cousin was going to give him a heart attack but he had figured it would be some youngling who was intent upon surprising him.

"To hear you make that sound." She laughed and jumped off the branch saluting the company in acknowledgement.

"I swear it's like we stole Farmer Brandish's carrots all over again." Bilbo muttered while Thorin walked up to her his brows drawn close together.

"Are you following us?" Thorin said accusingly.

"No I left before you all did, I've been sitting on that tree for the past fifteen minutes waiting for one of you to notice me and no one did. How are you all still alive?" She made a face and Thorin snarled. Bilbo felt obligated to run interference for his cousin before Thorin would kill her and began speaking again desperate to take the attention off her.

"You could have just come with us like a normal person, you could have done anything but that!"

"Yes but what's the fun in that?" She scoffed.

Bilbo would have cursed her for being so frustrating, so bold and brave, so stupid, so utterly Tookish but then he remembered he'd signed on for a quest that involved him stealing from a dragon.

"I do not remember allowing you to join our quest."

"I'm here mainly to make sure you don't kill my cousin and honestly, talk about granting me permission when you manage to find a way to actually stop me." Bilbo was in awe at the fact that she would take such a risk just to ensure his safety but he really wished she'd stop making Thorin so angry in the process.

"Travelling with a woman is bad luck." Dwalin grumbled and she turned to him in disbelief.

"There is a dragon waiting for you at the end of your journey and you're worried about me bringing bad luck? Your fearless leader got lost in the Shire. _The Shire_. Have you seen how tiny the Shire is?!" Thorin reddened at that reminder.

Bilbo had forgotten about that.

Thorin, to him, was rather a majestic, brave sort of character. Stubborn obviously, frustrating as well and bloody judgemental but he was in awe of the Dwarf King. To lose everything he had, and then the story of the war fought at Moria it seemed like such a tragedy and Thorin bore it with grace, Bilbo thought.

His awe lessened dramatically when he realised that yes, Thorin really had gotten lost in the Shire.

"You spoke of a sorcerer you were looking for." Thorin said, narrowing his eyes at her and her ear twitched. Bilbo knew her well enough to know that that meant she was angry. Very, very angry and not too subtly he moved out of the way and close to Bofur.

"Yes, I know. I was there when I said that." She said impudently.

All in all Bilbo was quite surprised she had survived all these years. What with her being a hobbit, not exactly creatures known for their survival skills and her penchant for making people angry, she really should have been dead.

"Who is it?"Thorin demanded of her. "Tell me and I might let you stay."

"I will stay whether you like it or not and the sorcerer has no name." She licked her lips suddenly, nervous. "He has many names but none of them true. There is a title that he was given in the villages of Men that he passed through. He likes to use it, it makes him feel important."

"What title?"

She paused, taking a deep breath as if even saying it hurt her and Bilbo wondered exactly why she was on the trail of this sorcerer. It seemed personal to say the least. He hadn't seen her get this angry since the time when Todo Crowan refused to take her refusals for his suit seriously. It had ended in a feud between the Crowans and the Tooks when she had decked him at a fair in full view of all of Hobbiton.

"The Puppeteer." She said softly.

Thorin frowned. "I have heard rumours of him. He appears as a magician and puts on shows, stays for days until the villagers trust him and then in the night he vanishes with the children of the village but he has not been seen in decades."

"He shifted his focus that's all, he still lives."

"And how do you know this?" He said suspiciously but her patience had given way and it was apparent that she would not give him a straight answer anymore.

"I have read the portents." She sneered.

"Very well, I will allow you to travel with us." Thorin said and Bilbo released a breath of relief as his cousin sunk into a curtsy with a flourish, picking up her cloak in her fingers as she did so, gracefully.

"You are most magnanimous, Thorin Oakenshield." She smiled before turning to the company. "So, let's get that fire started!"

"I can't believe Thorin let you stay." Bilbo said, sitting down next to her and handing her a bowl of stew as the camp settled down. She had just returned from scouting and declared the area clear when the Bofur had shoved the two bowls into his hand and pushed him in her direction. She looked up and nodded at Bofur and Bombur in acknowledgement before answering him.

"He has his reasons. I can guess why."

"Really? Why?"

"You can't fight Bilbo. He has enough to worry about as it is with his heirs on this quest, he doesn't want to risk any of his men's life saving you. He doesn't trust me but he doesn't trust you either and if we become each other's problems he doesn't have to think about us. Besides that, he's pretty sure you're going to leave soon and in case you do it would be better for your safety if I was there to guide you back."

"That's cold."

"It's sensible. Regardless of what he thinks about me he knows I can handle myself in a fight, I'm a logical addition to the company despite the fact that I know elves. Now that he knows I have my own agenda he can think of me as being separate from the Company, a hired hand of sorts and consequently not his responsibility."

Bilbo was speechless for quite a while. With a huff and a roll of his eyes he went back to eating. By the time he was scraping at the bottom of his bowl, Fili and Kili who were freed up from wood gathering duty joined them.

"Kieran!" Kili cried out when he saw her before frowning. "Keera? Myrtle? Erredil?"

"Let's stick to Keera."

"Alright then, Keera, we were just wondering how you came to be a Ranger."

"Oh." She stopped in her steps. "Oh you want the story. Well I'll tell you but it's not very exciting and I'm not very good at telling stories anyway."

"A hobbit lass becoming a Ranger, you're all but telling tales anyway." Dwalin said and by way of answering she casually shifted the braid off her shoulder onto her back and in doing so revealed the edges of the six pointed star tattooed into her shoulder that had been hidden before and Dwalin eyed her carefully.

"It isn't really that complicated, just a simple thing," she continued as if he hadn't said anything, "I helped rescue a Ranger from a few Orcs and he was so grateful for my assistance he trained me."

"Is that so?" Bilbo questioned, clearly thinking of a different account of the same story.

"Yes, yes it is."

"That's not the story Gandalf told me. As I heard it, you accidentally conked the Ranger on his head and knocked him unconscious."

"And _that_ combined with the stench of decay he emitted was enough to convince the Orcs that he was dead and they left him for dead instead of ripping him apart. Obviously." She rolled her eyes.

"And then you wouldn't leave him alone so he decided to teach you a few things to make yourself less conspicuous." Bilbo added.

"I just didn't want to leave him alone when he was clearly suffering through a concussion." She simpered.

Her cousin snorted. "For five days?"

"It was quite obvious, especially since he wasn't covering his tracks nearly as well as he should have. If I could follow him back then even without the skills I have now then someone else would have done so as well. Shoddy work." She clucked her tongue. "He needed the help."

"So you really are a Ranger?" Kili said in awe.

"An honorary one but yes."

"Have you been to many places?" asked Bilbo tucking his hands inside his pockets.

"A fair few. Some places I ended up at because I got lost."

"Isn't it dangerous? Travelling all by yourself?"

"Yes it is. But it's also fun."

"You are more a Took than I ever realised."

"That so?"

"Yes, very much so. The epitome of Tookishness, truly." Bilbo said.

"Aww." She smiled sweet and soft and pulled his cheek. "That would mean so much to me if I didn't know what Tookishness represents. And really Baby Cousin, you're much more of a Took than I am. _Dragon_." She said meaningfully.

"You're older than him?" Fili asked, giving her a probing look.

"Only by two years!" Bilbo protested emphatically glaring at Keera who cooed and pulled his cheek again.

"You'll always be my baby cousin!"

Bilbo opened his mouth, sulky and they half expected him to call for his mother to play mediator. Instead he shifted and yelped when something jabbed his hip.

"Bother it, this letter opener keep son getting in the way." Bilbo complained and she eyed the sword at his side with interest.

"Do you want to learn how to fight?"

"I-I'm not a fighter."

"Yes I know, that's why I'm offering to teach you." Bilbo sighed and frowned, thinking it over. "Let me correct that. Do you want to learn how to hold your own in a fight?"

A look of understanding dawned on his face. "Yes, I'd like that very much."

"Okay then." She stood up. "We'll start with unarmed combat, leave the sword away for now."

A little away from the rest in a relatively plain area, they stood facing one another. The company had gathered and were watching from the sidelines, making Bilbo a bit nervous. Keera on the other hand stood unmoved as if she hadn't even noticed the interested stares being thrown their way.

"So what do I-"

"What do you see around you?"

"Umm what?"

Having shrugged off her coat and quite a few layers now, she seemed impossibly small. It was hard for him to remember that this was the same person who had threatened Thorin, fought Wargs, killed Orcs even. But then she began moving, pacing around him without looking at him and Bilbo was reminded of the cat he used to have as a child and the way it prowled when hunting mice.

"You're in the middle of a fight, surrounded by sounds of battle. Clanging swords, yells as muscles are torn into, screams of people dying and war cries." It painted a morbid picture in his mind. "You've been disarmed and backed into a corner," She walked up to him fats and he backtracked finding himself right up against a tree. In the dimming light of evening her eyes seemed to gleam and he was momentarily terrified. "What do you see around you?"

"Uhh...grass, rocks, pebbles, a fallen branch, a frying pan, trees-"

"Out of all those things, which are closest to you? Within arm's reach?"

"The stones?" He scrambled back as she loomed closer and his toes dug into the soft earth at his feet, finding a pebble.

"And what can you do with the stones?"

"I can throw them I guess. Like conkers."

She smiled. "Exactly." And then she fell back. "You heard the story of how Thorin used the oak branch as a shield when his own was broken," From the corner of his eye Bilbo saw the dwarf in question jolt at the mention, "that is an example of excellent awareness of your surroundings. In a true fight you are almost never truly unarmed because there is always something that can be used, either to defend yourself with or to attack your assailant with. Right now the branch is too far away, you can't reach it quick enough to get away from me, so what do you do?"

"Umm I throw rocks at you," He toed one out of the dirt and flung it at her. She caught it but pretended to be impacted anyway and he used the time to equip himself with the branch nearby. She came at him arms swinging but he held her back long enough to reach the frying pan. "And get myself armed again." He said, his breath coming fast.

"Good. Now let's try that faster."

It went on till the moon came out and then continued for a while longer. The sequence of events remained the same, he obtained some means of defending himself, she disarmed him and they repeated it all over again but with the amount of time spent thinking in between actions decreasing.

"You're doing well." She said, not a hair out of place, not even breathing hard while he took large lungfuls of air, tired from all the running and fighting. "Better than I expected. Tomorrow we'll go through basic stances and blocks."

"Great, just bloody great." He gasped."I'm going to die before we ever get to the dragon."

She shrugged, "To be fair that was always a possibility."

* * *

**Leave a note!**


	10. Chapter 10

"Oh dear sweet Eru," Bilbo exhaled, his breath skipping dangerously. "You can't be serious, we're climbing that mountain?" He pointed at one in the range with a look of utter incredulity.

"No, were climbing that one." Keera (he'd finally gotten used to that name even though he always thought Myrtle when he looked at her) moved his hand so that it pointed at the mountain next to it which rose much higher than the one he thought they'd be climbing. Bilbo gulped.

"Oh."

"Don't worry, it'll be fun." She shrugged.

"Really? Climbing that incredibly high, craggy mountain will be fun?" Even Bofur was snorting at that.

"Well it'll at least be interesting which is much better than it being boring. Some mountains are just so dull to climb whereas that one is supposed to have winding roads and the paths get really tricky to climb up; even the goats find it difficult to tread these roads. This'll be interesting to say the least." She said with glee while the others looked at her in horror.

"What is wrong with you?" Kili asked.

"Nothing is wrong with me, I just haven't gone through these roads before and I'm always excited to find new paths." She was practically hopping, her grin splitting her face in half.

"You've never been here."

"No I usually cross through the Redhorn Pass since Lady Galadriel often has information for me to take back to the Rangers or the Gap of Rohan if I'm headed to Gondor or Rohan."

"You've been to Gondor?"

"Yes. Not as myself of course, I was pretending to be a peredhil child looking for my human father."

"Where else have you been?" Ori asked. He'd been carefully listening to everything she'd said once Gondor was mentioned.

She shrugged even as she stopped Bilbo from tripping guiding him by the back of his coat as their path continued to rise higher. "Lots of places. Some didn't even have any names. Most of the times I just wander."

"Why would you do that?" Fili wondered.

"Well someone has to see the world so that it can be put into the maps don't they? That's what I do, find out which paths can still be used, which routes are safe and which are not."

"Doesn't it get lonely?" Kili asked.

"I like it too much for it to get lonely. Plus I'm not alone for long, Orcs and Goblins have become a lot more frequent for some reason. There's often something to kill, some danger to report to the Rangers."

"Ever been to Erebor?" Fili asked.

"No, I've seen it from a distance and travelled close to it when I had to go to Withered Heath for a while but other than that I haven't been too close to it. Great doors though, the stone dwarf warriors are seen from a spyglass."

"Withered Heath? Why would you go there?" Thorin asked urgently and Bilbo wondered what the fuss was. What exactly was this Withered Heath anyway?

"I was...asked to go there and see if I could find any signs of weaknesses of dragons. Some clue perhaps."

"Dragons?" Now Bilbo really wanted to know what this Withered Heath was.

"Withered Heath is the famous breeding ground of dragons. It's where Smaug came to be."

"And who was it that asked you to go there?" Thorin continued grilling her. Bilbo would have gotten annoyed by now at Thorin's insistence, at the gruff way he heaped question upon question but Keera maintained her crooked smile and that only served to annoy Thorin further.

"I'm sure you can guess."

"Gandalf. He wasn't lying when he said that the dragon has long been on his mind."

"No he was not."

"And what did you find in Withered Heath?"

"Nothing. It is barren and although there were certain areas where information might have been carved, it was destroyed and scorched beyond recognition. I could have put it together but it would have taken years and we do not have that."

"No we do not." A muscle in Thorin's jaw twitched and with a deep breath he went ahead leaving them to their talk. After a great few minutes of silence and climbing higher and higher Ori finally spoke again.

"Have you been to any other cities?"

"To be honest I haven't been to cities as much as I have been to ruins. Making sure that the dark things that creep there are not moving too close for comfort."

"Ye're a scout then." Dwalin said.

"You could say that."

"For whom?"

"The White Council, the Rangers, anyone who would accept the information I have really."

"Not dwarves then." Balin snorted and she laughed.

"Not dwarves. I'm too mysterious and untrustworthy for you. Plus there's no one to vouch for me since the alliances of old have broken and Dwarves have become even more secretive if that was even possible."

"What are the Elves of Mirkwood like? Ave you been there, to the forest?" Bilbo asked.

The smile dropped from her face and she looked beyond him with eyes unseeing. "Once. It did not go so well."

"Did they...did they think you were a Dwarf?"

If Thorin and the rest's opinion of Elves was mirrored then being confused for a dwarf would not have ended well for her.

"Hmm? Oh no, I didn't even meet the Elves there. It was a long time ago, a decade nearly. That forest has a lot of secrets and not many of them are pleasant." Her eyes misted over, every single muscle suddenly tense and Bilbo wondered which of the unpleasant secrets she knew which of the dangers had left such a mark on her that she would be ready to fight at the mere mention of that forest.

"I'm sorry."

"Why? Did _you_ hurt me?"

"No but-"

"Then don't apologise. I like my adventures."

"Even the bad ones?"

"The bad ones taught me how to survive long enough to have good ones. Any day you're alive is a good one."

But at the end of the day when they were ensconced in a cave after stone giants had nearly had them thrown off the mountain Bilbo didn't feel very alive. He didn't feel very alive, he didn't feel like a hobbit and he most definitely didn't feel like a Burglar. So when Bofur tried to stop him from leaving he snapped.

"You're just homesick! I understand."

'Just homesick' as if there were anything plain or normal about missing everything, every small comfort, every little fauntling who'd hide behind him while running away from their mothers after making mischief, as if it was normal to miss his chair, his bed oh how he missed his bed and his larder. He missed his home's warmth and the way it welcomed him and once again he lost his temper.

"No you don't! You don't understand none of you do! You're dwarves, you're used to this life. To living on the road, never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere!"

And even as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them.

Because they _were_ used to it. They were used to travelling, they were used to not belonging because their home was taken from them. They did not travel out of choice like he and Keera were doing and that is why he was here. That is why he was their burglar to get them back their home. He wanted ot help them he really did but...

Bilbo just wished he was strong enough or it.

"I am sorry, I didn't-"

"No you're right." Bofur said and the little coil winding around his heart turned tighter at the sight of the faint gleam of moisture in the dwarf's eyes. "We don't belong anywhere. I wish you all the luck in the world, I really do." He clasped Bilbo's shoulder and the guilt increased tenfold even as he turned to leave. "What's that?" Bofur said and the glow at his hip sent his heart thudding in fear.

"_The blade is of Elvish make which means it will glow blue when Orcs or Goblins are nearby."_

His blade was glowing blue. And before he could even begin to process the thought, a hissing sound was heard and everyone was roused by Thorin. Suddenly the floor was gone and they were tumbling down, down , down, under the hill.

* * *

Goblins, Keera had learnt long ago, were stupid and almost children like in their lack of attention. Vicious, bloodthirsty children but then she had met a few of those as well.

But goblins weren't much of opponents for her and it was easy to use a moment of distraction as the goblin holding on to her swayed in enjoyment of his king's song and simply melt into the shadows. She stood behind it all, her back clinging to a jagged rock coming down from the ceiling right next to the path to the Goblin King and remained there unseen as the Company was brought to the Goblin King.

Her eyes skittered over the walls and stairs, searching looking for a way out even as more goblins rushed past her as if she wasn't there.

(Sometimes she scared herself by how well she could hide in the dark. But then she remembered a time when she had been lost for days, weeks, not a speck of light anywhere, the air turned stuffy and heavy, the blood rushing in her veins the only sound to be heard and it drove her mad.)

The strains of the song of Goblin Town came soon to an end.

"-Catchy isn't it?"

And she did have to agree with the Goblin King, it was rather catchy. She'd have to sing it when she killed them all and made her escape. It would be fun to taunt them with their own songs after all.

Balin clearly didn't think so as he shouted in protest. "That's not a song, that's an abomination!"

She shook her head but smiled nonetheless. These were Goblins, they were rather fond of abominations. And that was made rather obvious with the Goblin King's speech.

"Abominations, mutations, deviations, that's all you're going to find down here." And then they were stripped of all their weapons.

"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?"

There she was, all of them at once and they hadn't even found her. Silly little Goblins.

"Dwarves your malevolence." A reedy shrieking voice answered.

"Dwarves?"

"We found them on the front porch."

What a quaint name for the little trap.

"Well don't just stand there!" The Goblin King bellowed. "Search them! Every crack, every crevice!"

And soon tumbled out a plethora of silverware that even form the distance she could see as being Elvish, those long curved lines, the pale gleam in the metal.

Nori the thief, strikes again. And yet with all this time she had earned herself she could not see a way out.

"What are you doing in these parts?" The Goblin King said once he'd thrown away the silverware and she took that as her cue.

They began to lie and defend, pushing Thorin behind them to keep safe their aim and she knew it was time to move forward now. They would not be able to handle these questions for long and Thorin would show his face which would be bad. The Goblin King would collect his head and the bounty on it without a second thought.

But the bounty on her head was for her alive, this much she knew.

"If they will not talk, we'll make them squawk. Bring out the Mangler, bring out the Bone Breaker. Start with the youngest."

"Wait!" Her cry mingled with Thorin's but her movements caught their attention as she strode ahead on the platform, her steps loud and resounding then because she made them so. "You should be asking _me_ that question." She said walking ahead as if she had all the time in the world. The goblins that came forward to 'escort' her were easily thrown off the wooden walkways and with one flick of her hand they let her through to the front to talk to the King.

"Who's this? Why do you hide your face?" The Goblin King growled.

"Apologies." She said and threw the hood back. "It's a habit."

"Well well well look who it is. The little Marionette's come to visit us, boys!" The Goblin King preened, his eyes gleaming and she hissed in anger.

_That_ name she hated above all else.

"I am not the Marionette!"

"So you say poppet but the price on you says otherwise. A pretty pretty price but only if you're alive and whole. Silly person that Puppetmaster but he pays good coin nonetheless."

"Does he now?" She asked, barely controlling her fury. That name, that title it burnt her from the inside out.

"You should know little Marionette, you were his favourite toy." The Goblin King teased.

She hated hated **hated** that name. All the names she had collected since would not erase it from her past and she hated it.

"I am not the Marionette! You of all people should know!" She turned to the Goblins watching. The Goblin King wasn't the only one capable of putting up a performance. "Perhaps you have heard of what they call me in Gundabad. I am the shadowed Death." The one closest to her leapt but her hand was out in a flash and with a flick of her wrists its head was facing the wrong way to be alive and he fell over dead. "I am the Poisoned Bite! I am the dark flame, **Burz Ghash**," They screeched and shook with rage when she spoke in black speech and in doing so forgot the dwarves, "But perhaps you have forgotten! Perhaps you need _**reminding**_!" She shouted and as the goblins descended down the walls of the mountain her hand flicked and needles, thin and sharp and coated with poisons, flew from them landing firmly in goblins who fell to the ground twitching.

But she had underestimated the number they were and they came down upon her like a tide breaking on the coast, the dwarves doing their best to hold them off but the goblins had only furthered in zeal when Thorin's blade had come into view and for the millionth time in her life she was almost certain she'd end up dead.

And then came a blinding light that swept the goblins away with it. Gandalf stood right in front of her, Glamdring held out ready for a fight.

"Take up arms." He said as they struggled to get back to their feet, the blinding light still ringing in the back of their eyes. "Fight. FIGHT!"

And finally they did. Axes were picked up, swords were taken and they began slashing and fighting following Gandalf's lead to wherever he was taking them.

"You're late." She told him in between cutting off a goblin's head and stabbing yet another.

"A wizard is never late, everyone else is simply early!" He answered as he beheaded his own goblin, Glamdring cutting a path between them and their way out.

"Now you're stealing lines from the Queen of Rohan?! Late _and_ a plagiarist!"

"Stop squabbling like children, we have to get out of here!" Thorin said interrupting the two and piercing his sword through tow goblins at once before retracting it.

"Oh that's rich coming from you." Her daggers flew off her hand and into the heads of goblins that were shooting arrows at Kili. "Honestly, have you heard yourself talk about elves, it's like watching a kid being petty because someone else has a bigger crayon."

"I assure you, I have the bigger crayon." Thorin said, arrogant even while cutting through goblins like butter.

"Seriously?!"

They moved in a symphony of steel and flesh, nearly at the end of their journey where the way out was clear to see when the Goblin King burst out, coming up from the boards beneath them with a roar, blocking their way.

"You thought you could escape me." He slashed at Gandalf with his bone staff, dark guttural noises reminiscent of the black speech emitting from him. "What are you going to do now, Wizard?"

A jab and two slashes did it, ending the Goblin King's life but then his weight fell forward and the already teetering wood broke and gave way and they were suddenly plummeting down to the ground below them clinging to the boards with all their might.

Against all odds and all possibilities, they landed safe and sound with nothing but a few bruises and cuts.

"Well that could have been worse." Bofur said as they tried to crawl out from under the debris of rotting wood when the Goblin King landed on the platform as well, almost crushing them with his weight.

With a few more bruises and aches than they had a few seconds ago they climbed out of the wreckage.

"Gandalf!" Kili's cry caught their attention and they looked where he was looking to see hordes of goblins climbing down the mountain walls towards them and the race began anew.

They tumbled out onto the sunlit hillside and burst into frantic laughter.

"Now we're out of Goblin Town." She sang and they looked at her exasperated but smiling.

"Where's Bilbo? Where's our Hobbit?!" Gandalf said and the smiles slid off.

"Curse that Halfling!"

"Where's our Burglar!"

"I thought he was with Dori!"

"Don't blame me."

"When did you last see him?"

"I think I saw him slip away when they first collared us." Nori said and the pandemonium calmed down to a gentle simmer.

"I thought he had gotten out of the cave before it fell open." She said.

"Ad what happened exactly?" Gandalf questioned once he realised that no one knew quite where Bilbo was.

"I'll tell you what happened." Thorin growled. "Mister Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He has thought of nothing but his soft bed and warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door!"

"Oh you..." Keera struggled for the right insult. "Son of a Sackville-Baggins."

Thorin turned his glare to her.

"Mark my words," He said pointedly, "We will not be seeing our hobbit again. He is long gone."

"No, he's not." And as one they turned to the wholly unexpected voice of one Bilbo Baggins.

"Bilbo!" She cried out and hugged him. "You're alive! How in the name of Eru are you alive?!"

"How indeed." Thorin muttered.

"Well what does it matter!" Gandalf interrupted before Bilbo could even find his words. "He's back."

"It matters. I want to know." Thorin said. "Why did you come back?"

Keera noticed that he'd jumped from how to why. The Why didn't matter to her at all though and so she pondered the How, _that_ was quite a puzzle.

"Look I know you doubt me. I know you always have. And you're right, I often think of Bag-End. I miss my books. And my armchair and my garden. See that's where I belong. That's home. And that's why I came back because...You don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back, if I can." But then he cleared his throat when everyone looked a bit too close to tears. Even Keera was in awe of the eloquence of his words she could not imagine how the others must have felt if even she felt the tug of homesickness "And no matter what you do or say, I don't think it's right to call you a Sackville-Baggins. No one deserves that." He said pointedly glaring at her but with a laugh.

"You're right." She said apologetically. "I'm sorry I called you a Sackville-Baggins, Thorin. You're in a class of your own."

"Keera!" Bilbo chided.

Before she could protest the scolding though, a Warg growl rang out.

"Out of the frying pan." Thorin started and she finished for him.

"And into another frying pan. Or worse, a fire."

"Run!"

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